by Robert Boren
Frank got into the Jeep and backed it off, and then drove it over next to the stand of trees that was the back boundary of the clearing. He stowed the tow bar in the back compartment, and waited for Jane to finish up with Lucy. The two came walking up after a few minutes.
“I’m thinking that we back the coach up next to where I’ve got the Jeep parked. That way, if we have to leave quickly, we can just pull forward.”
“Good idea. Got to watch those tree branches up there, though. Some of them look a little low.”
“That’s why I waited for you,” Frank said, smiling. He went into the coach and fired up the engine. Then he made a wide turn back towards the road, and put the coach into reverse. He slid open his side window so he could hear Jane, and backed up. He slowed as he saw the trees getting closer.
“Just about two more feet,” Jane shouted. Frank backed up a little more, and then put the coach into park and shut off the engine.
“Aren’t you going to level?” asked Jane.
“I want to put those blocks under the jacks first,” he said. “I don’t want the jacks sinking into the dirt.”
Jane nodded, and followed Frank to one of the side storage compartments. She helped him get out the blocks and carry them around to all four jack locations. After they were all placed under the jacks, Frank got back into the coach. He started the engine, and pushed the power button on the leveling jack console. The lights came on, showing one side of the coach a little low. He pushed the auto leveling button, and the hydraulics whirred into action. The coach bounded from side to side, but found level very quickly, and the level indicator light came on. Frank pushed the power button to shut down the leveling system, and then extended the slides. When they were all out, Jane came back into the coach with Lucy.
“Want some coffee?” she asked.
“I’ve got a better idea. There’s a Starbucks in Williams. It’s only about five miles away. I say we grab the laptop and go over there. I want to see what’s going on in the house, and I want to try to get ahold of Robbie.”
“Good plan. Should we take Lucy?”
“I think we ought to leave her in the coach. Her bark sounds bigger than she is…..and there’s nobody to bother around here. We’ll only be gone for a little while.”
“Alright, let’s go.”
The two of them checked out the windows to make sure they were locked, and Frank lowered the blinds in the front of the coach. He got out and locked up the storage compartments. After Jane climbed out, he locked the coach door. Then he met her by the Jeep. She was holding the laptop case.
“Why don’t I drive?” she said. “You’ve driven enough today.”
“Sounds great, honey.” They got into the car and pulled away.
“This is such pretty country,” Jane said as she drove along. They were at 4th street in minutes, and then they sped up.
“Look, two coaches coming in,” Frank said, pointing ahead of them. “We might have neighbors by the time we get back.”
“Could be. Where was the Starbucks?”
“We passed it when we got off of I-40. I think that road was old Route 66.”
“Really? I didn’t notice that.”
They saw two more coaches making their way south on 4th Street before they got into Williams. It didn’t take long to find the Starbucks. The parking lot was about half full. Jane found a spot, and they parked. Frank picked up the laptop, and they walked to the door.
There were still tables open, so Frank sat down on one by the window and started getting the laptop out of the case. He looked down at the wall, and saw that there was an electrical outlet close enough.
“Excellent,” Frank said.
“What do you want? I’ll go order.”
“I want a Grande Pike and a couple of Old Fashioned donuts, if they have them.
“Alright, be back in a second.”
Frank turned on the laptop, and it started its boot up. While it was working, he looked around. Most of the people looked like locals. Flannel shirts, jeans, work boots. A couple of police officers came in, talking to each other in hushed tone as they approached the cashier. There were several college kids sitting at a large table in the back, having a slightly loud political discussion, but laughing and joking at the same time. They struck Frank as being very nervous. All of the kids took notice when the police officers looked their way, and they got quiet.
“Here you go,” Jane said, setting the coffee cup and a bag down on the table next to the laptop.
“Outstanding,” Frank said. He quickly picked up the cup of coffee and had a sip. “Been waiting for that.”
Jane sat down on the chair facing Frank and had a sip of her coffee as well. She pulled a Cheese Danish out of her bag and started eating.
Frank logged onto the laptop and got it connected to the Wi-Fi. It was slow, but it worked.
“Anything?”
“Not yet. Checking e-mail first, to see if either of the kids have sent us anything.
“Good idea. I’m coming around to that side of the table.” Jane dragged her chair over, and Frank moved closer to the window to give her some room.
“Here’s something from our girl,” Frank said. He opened it. “She’s just asking where we went. I’m going to reply and tell her we are fine, but I’m not going to say where we are.”
“Alright. I’m glad she’s up in Oregon.”
“Me too.”
Frank wrote the reply and sent it. Then he pulled one of his donuts out and devoured it in about three bites.
“Hungry, I guess,” Jane said with a smirk.
“You are making pretty good progress there yourself.”
Jane looked at him, then pulled him close and kissed him gently.
“I’m glad we have each other,” she said.
“Me too.”
Frank reached for his wallet and brought it up. He pulled out a slip of paper.
“What’s that?” Jane asked.
“The IP address of our security cameras.”
“Oh.”
Frank opened a new browser window and input the IP address. It opened up to a console. He selected camera number one, which showed the front of their condo and the driveway.
“Oh crap,” he said, leaning back in his chair.
“What?”
“Look. There’s a whole line of cars in our driveway.”
“Oh no.”
“We’d better call Robbie. I don’t want him going near the place.”
“I’ll turn on my iPHONE,” Jane said. She reached into her purse and pulled it out.
“There are several young men sitting in our living room,” Frank said as he looked at camera number 2.
Jane’s phone was back on line, so she dialed Robbie. She heard the ringer start up. Then a click.
“Mom?” said the worried voice on the other end.
“Yes, honey, it’s me. We’re alright.”
“Where are you guys?”
“We can’t tell you on the phone. I’ll explain it to you later. We are north east of where you are. We’re in a safe place.”
“Alright, I understand, mom,” Robbie said.
“We need to warn you about something…..”
“Wait a minute,” said Frank. He was staring at a picture of the garage.
Chapter 6 - Boondocking in the Pines
“What do you see in the garage, Frank?” asked Jane, a scared look on her face. People in the Starbucks were noticing her distress. The place got quiet.
“Look - Robbie’s car,” Frank said.
Jane looked relieved.
“Robbie, you are at our house?” asked Jane.
There was silence on the line for a moment.
“Yes, Mom. I’m sorry,” Robbie said. “We had to leave the apartment.”
“Oh, honey, I’m not upset that you’re there,” Jane said. “I’m relieved. You don’t know how worried I’ve been about you.”
“So Robbie and his friends are at our house?” asked F
rank.
“Yes, Frank.”
“Good. Let me talk to him for a minute.”
“Robbie, your father wants to talk to you,” Jane said. “Don’t worry, he’s glad you are there too.”
“Alright, mom.”
Frank took the phone from Jane.
“Hi, son. Are you safe?”
“Hi, dad. I think we are safer here. I brought some of my friends over.”
“I can see them in the video,” Frank said. “That’s fine. Do you trust all of them?”
“Yes, of course, dad. You’ve met a couple of them.”
“How many do you have there?”
“Three,” Robbie said.
“What’s been going on around there?”
“Bad stuff. A gang attacked our apartment complex yesterday, during daylight. I got out with Steve and Gil. We didn’t know where else to go, so we came over here.”
“Anybody get hurt?”
“No. Gil had his hunting rifle. The gang tried to stop us from driving off, but when he pointed the gun at them, they got out of the way.”
“Good.”
“There were some problems here, too. Some thugs attacked the front unit yesterday. Rick and Diane got away, but the gang ransacked the place. Then they tried to get into the middle unit. Nobody was home, but they couldn’t get the door open. We had our cars in the driveway blocking your unit. The way we parked, you can barely get past in the front. They tried to come around the back. I think one of them broke his shoulder trying to break in the back garage door. Nice job with that 4 X 4, by the way.”
Frank snickered.
“Good, glad it held. What are you planning to do?”
“Well, hang out for a while, if that’s alright with you. My job is shut down for now.”
“How many guns do you guys have?”
“Gil has his 30-30 Marlin lever gun. That’s it. And he’s only got about fifteen rounds of ammo.”
“Alright. Get a piece of paper and a pencil.”
“Just a sec,” Robbie said. He put down the phone, and left for a moment. “OK, got it.”
“Here’s the combo to the gun safe. It’s in the closet in the master, behind some clothes. Combo is left 35 right 12 left 8.”
“Got it. What’s in there?”
“Another 30-30 and about two hundred rounds of ammo, plus two Weatherby bolt action hunting rifles with scopes and about twenty wounds of ammo for each, a couple of hand guns, and a double barrel shot gun with about fifty shells. Not sure how much pistol ammo there is in there….I took a lot of it when we left.”
“Thanks, dad. We’ll hang out and protect your place,” Robbie said.
“I’m not worried about the condo……protect yourself, son.”
“Where are you guys? When are you coming home?”
“We’re in another state to the east, in the motor home. We got out of California just before they got it locked down. I don’t know when we are coming home. It may be a while.”
“I wish I was out of here too. I’ve been hearing bad stories about the army. They will shoot you if they even think you are looting now.”
“Seen any tanks around town?”
“I’ve seen them on the freeway, but they were all going south.”
“Alright, Robbie, you take care of yourself. I love you. I’ll give you back to mom.”
“Love you too, dad,” Robbie said. Frank handed the phone back to Jane.
“Robbie, there’s quite a bit of food in the deep freeze,” Jane said. “Use it.”
“OK, mom. We’ll do that. We were able to bring quite a bit of food with us. We’re OK for a week or so just on that.”
“Alright, honey. Be careful. Avoid the soldiers if you can.”
“I’ll try, mom. I love you.”
“I love you too Robbie,” Jane said. Her eyes were misting. “We’ll be in touch.”
“Bye.”
Jane put the phone back on the table, looked over at Frank, and put her hand on his.
“Robbie is probably going to be fine, honey,” Frank said. “They will have to make a food run eventually, but we did leave the place pretty well stocked.”
“Yep, there’s even a couple of turkeys in the deep freeze, and a lot of fish.”
Frank looked at some news on the internet.
“Lots of heated rhetoric going on. Looking at Drudge.”
“I suppose they are making the Administration look like absolute beasts,” Jane said.
“Pretty much, but Slate is saying that the Tea Party is behind the whole thing, so there’s plenty of BS to go around.”
Jane shook her head.
“I think we should be getting back,” she said.
“Agreed, but order me a refill. This coffee tastes great.”
“OK, sweetie,” Jane said, and she got up and walked to the counter with Frank’s cup as he shut down the laptop.
Soon they were back in the jeep, with Frank driving this time. There was more traffic in town now, and also on 4th street. They saw another four or five rigs behind them as they made the left turn onto Dogtown Road. It didn’t take long to get back to their clearing. There were two other coaches there, on either side of their rig, widely spaced. Frank pulled the Jeep up next to their coach, and he and Jane got out.
“I figured we’d have company,” Jane said, as she unlocked the door to the coach and opened it. Lucy bounded out, tail wagging.
“Hi, girl,” Frank said, squatting down to pet her as she licked his hands and arms.
“You want a drink, Frank?”
“Not yet, still working on this coffee,” he replied. “I’ll get the chairs out and get the awning set up.”
“Sounds like a great idea.”
Frank went to the back compartment and pulled out all four chairs, figuring that they’d have company eventually. He also pulled out the table, and set them all up next to the coach. Then he reached into the door and hit the awning button, and it extended itself.
Frank was just sitting down as Jane came back out of the coach. She sat down on the chair next to him, and Lucy jumped up on her lap.
“How’s Mr. Wonderful doing?” Frank asked.
“He’s still hiding somewhere. I think we need to make sure we keep the screen door latched, or we’ll lose him.”
Frank nodded.
“How long do you think we’ll be able to run the fridge before we have to fire up the generator?” asked Jane
“I’m hoping we can make it through to tomorrow morning, but we’ll have to keep an eye on the battery level.”
“Too bad we couldn’t get solar before we left Quartzsite.”
“Well, at least we’re all in the same boat here, so we shouldn’t get a lot of crap for running the generator.”
“How much gas do we have left?” asked Jane.
“We’re good. Over three quarters of a tank. We’ll want to top it off in town before we leave, though.”
Frank saw two people walking in their direction from the coach on the left. It was a couple about their age. Both of them were a little overweight. The man had a large white beard, giving him a Santa Claus look. The woman wore tailored clothes and looked attractive for her age. She had a pretty round face, and shoulder length black hair with streaks of gray starting to show.
“Hi there,” Frank said, standing up and extending his hand. “I’m Frank, and this is Jane.”
“Very pleased to meet you,” said the man. “I’m Hank and this is Linda.”
Jane stood up now too. “Pleased to meet you both,” she said.
“Have a seat,” Frank said, motioning at the two extra chairs.
“Thanks,” Hank said. The couple sat down.
“So, where are you folks coming from?” asked Frank.
“San Diego,” Hank said. Linda nodded. “You?”
“Redondo Beach,” Frank said. “You were in a worse place than we were, from the sound of it.”
“We got out a week ago,” Hank said. “We were hoping t
hat Quartzsite would be far enough away. Wrong.”
“Yes, we just came from there,” Jane said. “Some shooting started up as we were leaving the park.”
“Wait a minute, were you guys at the place right by HWY 95?”
“Yes,” Frank said. “Why?”
“There was a riot there, and the military rolled in. About thirty people got killed.”
“No……….really?” asked Jane.
“Really. That’s what put us over the edge to get the hell out of there.”
“We aren’t settling down again until we are up to Montana,” Linda said. “Snow or no snow.” She laughed heartily.
“We aren’t sure how far we’ll go up yet,” Frank said. He took the last drink of his coffee, and put the cup down on the table.
“Ahh, you guys went to the Starbucks in town,” Hank said. “We are fixin to do that. I want to use their Wi-Fi.”
“That’s the main reason we went,” Jane said. “We wanted to check on our son and our house.”
“How are things there, now?” asked Linda.
“Worse than they were when we left,” Jane replied. “Our son is holed up in our condo. It’s in a better neighborhood than where he was living.”
“That’s good,” Hank said. “We don’t have any kids, so at least we don’t have that worry.”
“Any news from your place?” asked Frank.
“Not really, other than what we’ve heard on the news. You heard about the plane getting shot down, right?”
“Yes, heard that on the radio.”
“We decided to leave a few days before that happened, because of the types of immigrants we started seeing around town,” Hank said. “Not your usual wetbacks.”
“Hank, don’t say things like that,” said Linda. She looked over at Frank and Jane. “Sorry.”
“No worries,” said Frank.
“Anyway, they don’t look like the usual peasants that come over the border illegally,” Hank said. He looked at Linda. “Better?”
“Yes, thank you,” she said.
Jane smirked and looked over at Frank.
“How so?” asked Frank.