The Line of Departure: A Postapocalyptic Novel (The New World Series Book 4)

by G. Michael Hopf

  Samantha had called him the moment she had gotten off the phone with Schmidt. So many things had been going through his mind after learning that Sebastian was in custody back in Cheyenne. He could only presume that it all had to do with what happened in Coos Bay. If the pandemic hadn’t rushed him home, the news that federal forces were coming to McCall to arrest him added to his motivation to get there. He was happy that he had asked for the armament he now possessed. He now had some tools that they could use to protect themselves from whatever was coming their way.

  The drive gave him the opportunity to reflect on the past few months. So many things had happened to him and his family since the lights went out back in December. One thing that became abundantly clear to him was that his actions were always reactive rather than proactive. He didn’t want to do that anymore. Samantha and others throughout his life had accused him of being “hardheaded and stubborn,” and now without a doubt he knew they were right. It took the murder of Hunter to show him that he couldn’t just go off half-cocked in this new world. If he wanted to survive he needed to carefully plan his actions.

  After what had just happened to him in Coos Bay and to Sebastian in Cheyenne, he needed to be active with regard not only to protecting his family but in creating a place for them to flourish in. The way he could do that was to be a part of a new political system, like Cascadia, where he could dictate the rules and laws that he and his family lived under. What happened in Coos Bay gave him a glimpse of what a corrupt and desperate system looked like—both Barone’s and Conner’s. Conner had ordered his execution, after all. He understood the desire and necessity for Conner to rid himself of Barone, but what had he done? Now his brother was captive and he was a fugitive. If Conner was ruthless enough to attempt to assassinate him, what else was he capable of? He had to marshal the people of McCall to protect them from what was coming, and instead of convincing them, he needed to be in charge of the entire thing. If he wanted to keep his family safe, he would have to create and then lead this new system. He couldn’t trust anyone else to do this. He had to be the one.

  With each passing mile he plotted just how he’d make his way to the top of the political food chain in McCall. He had the skill set, the knowledge, the connections, and some firepower. Those things would give him a seat at the table. Once there, he’d find a way to be the one at the head of it.

  • • •

  The northern checkpoint to McCall sat in the middle of Highway 55, adjacent to the entrance of Brundage Mountain Ski Resort. Stretching from one side of the road to the other were three rows of abandoned cars. Barbed wire, broken glass, and metals spikes were strewn in front of that a narrow chute made from old railroad ties that directed a single car or vehicle into the main guard. Rainey had designed what he thought was a very effective checkpoint.

  Gordon went into the chute and was cleared quickly. He saw Rainey and motioned him over.

  “Chief, how are you?”

  “We’ve seen better times. What do you have there?” Rainey asked, motioning to the TOW missile system mounted on the hood of the Humvee.

  “It’s a blender,” Gordon joked.

  Rainey laughed. “Where have you been?”

  “Oh, here and there.”

  “I won’t ask further. I do advise you take a mask and gloves before you make your way into town, though.”

  “How’s it going?” Gordon asked, eager to get Rainey’s thoughts on the pandemic.

  “It’s not good, but we have hope that Charles Chenowith will pull a Hail Mary and find a cure.”

  “Listen, Chief, I want to help out.”

  “Sure thing, we have some shifts open . . .”

  “Not that—I want to help more than that. I don’t want to be a body that you use to help fill a schedule here or there. I want to help in the decision making.”

  “We leave those sorts of things to our elected leaders.”

  “Chief, I have some critical information that you and the town leadership need to be made aware of. I know you’re busy now, but can we and the mayor and city council meet later?”

  “Well, the mayor is sick, but I can pull the others together. Say, around one this afternoon?”

  “I’ll be there,” Gordon answered. With that, he fired up the Hummer and drove off toward his reunion with Samantha and Haley.

  • • •

  The empty streets of town were the first change he noticed. Mother Nature had a way of reminding everyone who was really in charge of things.

  When he arrived at his house, there was a sadness that hung over it, like an invisible dark cloud. He jumped out of the Hummer and quickly jogged to the front door. He found it locked and knocked to announce his arrival.

  A moment later, he heard the loud clack of the dead bolt being unlocked. The door opened, and there stood a weary but smiling Samantha.

  “You’re finally home, thank God,” she said as she embraced him.

  They held each other and kissed.

  Her body felt good to his touch. He had missed her so much. He pulled her away when he felt the warm tears soak through the fabric of his shirt. “You’re crying.”

  “I just missed you so much. This whole thing with the kids has me really scared,” she said softly, wiping tears from her face and eyes.

  “We’ll get through this. Just remember, Haley is a Van Zandt. We’re stubborn. We won’t let a little ol’ virus take us out,” Gordon said, attempting a little humor.

  Samantha smiled. “She’s awake right now. She refused to take a nap ever since I told her you’d be coming home this morning.”

  Gordon again kissed Samantha then made his way into the house. He marched down the hall toward Haley’s bedroom when Samantha stopped him.

  “Here, you’ll need this,” she said, handing him latex gloves and a mask.

  Gordon hesitated at first but realized the importance of not getting sick. He donned the protective items then entered Haley’s room.

  “Dada,” Haley said.

  “Hi, baby, how ya doing?” Gordon asked as he quickly stepped across the room to her bedside and sat down.

  Haley instinctually rolled over and embraced Gordon, who didn’t hesitate to reciprocate.

  “I missed you, Dada. I’m happy you’re home,” Haley said, her head now resting in Gordon’s lap.

  A wave of emotions washed across him as he looked down at her gaunt face. Her eyes were sunken and her skin was ashen. Her little body looked thin and weak. Tears began to well up in his eyes as he saw just how sick she was.

  Within minutes she was fast asleep in his arms. She had waited patiently to see him, and with that fulfilled, she gave into the fatigue. Gordon watched her labored breathing and leaned back against the headboard. He too decided to let sleep take him and soon he was sleeping.

  • • •

  Gordon shot up, sweat beading on his forehead. He looked beside him and saw Haley lying sweetly, her chest rising and falling. Instinctively he looked on his wrist for his watch but he had taken it off early that morning. Knowing he had set a meeting with Rainey and the city council he sprang to his feet. When he entered the hallway, he heard a noise coming from the kitchen. He made his way toward it and was surprised when he encountered Nelson.

  “Looky who’s awake. How ya doing?” Nelson asked, stopping what he was doing behind the counter in the kitchen.

  “Hey, buddy. What time is it?”

  “Oh, about twelve-thirty.”

  “Good, I was worried I overslept.”

  “You were sleeping like a baby in there.”

  Gordon removed the mask and gloves and placed them on the counter.

  With a pair of tongs, Nelson grabbed them and immediately tossed them in the trash can. He then took a spray bottle filled with bleach, sprayed the spot the gloves had been placed, and wiped it all up with paper towels.

>   Gordon watched him curiously.

  “Gotta keep up on this shit, man. The last thing you want is to get sick,” Nelson commented, tossing away the paper towel.

  “Sorry, wasn’t thinking.”

  “How was the trip?”

  “A clusterfuck.”

  “What happened?”

  “Too much to tell right now. Where’s Sam?”

  “Oh, she went to go see her friend Phyllis.”

  “Who?”

  “The lady cooking up home remedies for the kids.”

  “So you’re holding the fort down?” Gordon asked.

  “Just helping out, that’s all.”

  “Once again, Nelson is here when I’m not. Thanks, man, you’re a good friend.”

  “That’s what friends do. But do me a favor—can you please stop running off?”

  “That I can’t promise. I’m sure you heard about Sebastian and Annaliese?”

  “Yeah, sorry to hear. What are you going to do?”

  “I don’t know, but when I do, I’ll keep you in the loop. I’d stay and chat but I have a meeting with the chief and city council at one,” Gordon said.

  “God, man, don’t you ever stop and rest?”

  Gordon looked at him squarely. “If you stop moving in this world, you die.”

  • • •

  Timeliness was very important to Gordon so when he looked at the clock and saw it read 1:12, he became a bit agitated. When people were late to affairs, regardless of how trivial some might have thought they were, like a dinner or cocktail party, he took it personally. He wanted to assume that something so big had happened that they were detained; and the way things happened now, that very well could be the issue. However, he still hated waiting.

  He stood from the old office chair in the city hall conference room and began to pace the room. When he folded his arms he was reminded of the knife wound he had sustained in Coos Bay. Beneath his cotton T-shirt, he could feel the bandage. He ran his fingers up and down the thick adhesive, his mind now revisiting that fight with Finley.

  The door opened, jarring his thoughts, and there stood Rainey, his buttoned short-sleeve collared shirt soaked with sweat stuck to his body.

  “Sorry, Gordon, we were all at the hospital.”

  Gordon nodded.

  “I really hate having you wait but we had to go.”

  “Shit happens.”

  “Yes, sir, it does, and more shit just happened.”

  Gordon cocked his head.

  “The mayor is dead.”

  Gordon sat down with the knowledge. “I know this outbreak is bad, but how do you feel about our chances of surviving this?” he asked.

  Rainey pulled a chair out and sat down across from Gordon. “You want me to be honest with you? It’s very bad. The state government in Mountain Home is paralyzed from it, and all we’ve heard from Cheyenne is that they are sending aid, but we don’t know when that will arrive and just what it will look like. In the absence of a vaccine or cure, we will have to just sit and let this go through the population.”

  “Unless Charles and Gunny Smith are successful.”

  “Come on, Gordon, what are the odds that Charles’s sister has a vaccine?”

  Taking a deep breath, Gordon nodded. “You’re right, it’s a long shot and seems pretty unbelievable.”

  “Right now, we’ve done all we can do to isolate the sick and provide comfort. We’ve put into action some strict quarantine protocols. I just don’t see Charles or the Feds coming with a cure. Without a vaccine or cure, we’ll have to just let this take its course.”

  “Have the doctors been giving everyone the natural remedies that Phyllis has been concocting for Haley and Luke?”

  “Yes, they have been, but it only helps some of the symptoms. People are still dying.”

  Gordon looked at the clock and then back to Rainey. “Is the council coming?”

  “No, they’re meeting now to select an interim mayor till we can hold an election.”

  Gordon didn’t like hearing that he wouldn’t be able to present his concern to the entire council.

  “So, what did you want to tell us that was critical?” Rainey asked.

  “I don’t know how to put this without it sounding paranoid, but the federal forces coming are not coming to help us. They’re coming to arrest me and those affiliated with Cascadia.”

  “Where did you get this information?”

  “My wife received a phone call from a Major Schmidt back in Cheyenne. They’ve arrested my brother and said they are coming here. They demanded that I and the Cascadian leadership turn ourselves in or they’ll try my brother for treason.”

  “Treason?” Rainey asked, shocked.

  “Chief, in all honesty it could be said that what you, my brother, and the other Cascadians were doing was possibly seditious, even treasonous.”

  “You’re siding with them?”

  “No, no, don’t get me wrong, I just can see how President Conner might view this is all. Just because I can understand their motives doesn’t mean I condone them. Christ, man, they have my brother. You think I’m on their side?”

  Rainey, normally a calm man, looked nervous. He ran his fingers through his hair. “As if we needed something else to worry about.”

  “Chief, you have a lot on your plate. This is where I can help. I have experience, I’ve led men in battle before—”

  “Battle? You think we’re going to war?”

  “I didn’t say war, but I’m not about to surrender to them, which means things could get ugly.”

  “I need to inform the council of this immediately,” Rainey said as he stood.

  “I want to come too.”

  Rainey looked at him and said, “Of course you’re coming. I want you there when I nominate you.”

  “Nominate me for what?”

  “I don’t know what the title will be, but anyone who leaves town in military choppers and returns with missile systems and other military gadgets is someone I need doing more than perimeter checks.”

  Gordon smiled. He wasn’t one who liked to receive praise but in his mind, Rainey was right. He had a skill set and resources that the town could use, and if they were going to defend themselves from another force, they needed him. Now he wouldn’t be just a player out of many; he was carving out that leadership role he set his mind to having.

  JULY 4, 2015

  “We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal . . .”

  —Thomas Jefferson

  Cheyenne, Wyoming

  General Baxter took the glass of whiskey and tossed it back. His index finger nervously tapped the side of the glass as he contemplated having another drink. He typically hated waiting but given the present circumstances, the waiting he had to endure was torment. He knew setting up another secret meeting with Wilbur was risky, but he needed to confer with her so they both knew how to proceed following the arrest of Dylan.

  His front door opened and closed quickly with a loud thud. He had a sudden vision flash before him of him getting ambushed and arrested. That nervous anticipation dissipated as Secretary Wilbur appeared in the doorway.

  “General, good morning,” Wilbur said.

  “Madam Secretary, please take a seat.”

  She strode across the small den of his residence and sat across from him.

  “I don’t think—”

  “Don’t talk, just listen,” he said, interrupting her. “I asked you to come over here to tell you I’m out. I have no interest in working against President Conner or Major Schmidt. They haven’t done anything to me and I believe a strong case can be made that they are doing what is best for the county.”

  “I had a feeling that’s what you were going to say. So what happens from here then—you turn me in?”

/>   “Nothing happens. We continue to do our jobs and forget we ever conspired or mentioned working against the president.”

  “What about Dylan? Aren’t you afraid he’ll squeal?”

  Baxter poured another glass of whiskey and tossed it back. “No, I’m not worried about him. I took care of that.”

  “What does that mean?”

  He then looked at his watch and said, “This meeting is over. When you leave, you forget everything that has ever been said or mentioned before, like it never happened. If you wish to continue down this reckless road, you’ll do it alone, understand?”

  “Understood,” she answered and stood up.

  “Good, now please see yourself out.”

  As she walked to the open doorway she turned and blasted him. “I never cast you as a coward, General.”

  “I’m not a coward, I’m a survivor. Now please leave.”

  She pursed her lips and pivoted back around. When she reached the front door a feeling of doom began to come over her. What did he mean by saying, “I took care of that,” in reference to Dylan? She stopped and looked over her shoulder. With a quick and nervous nod, she turned the door handle and swiftly walked onto the sidewalk. With the door separating her from Baxter she inhaled deeply, collected herself, and marched toward her vehicle. Quietly to herself she said, “What did you get yourself into, Bethanny?”

  McCall, Idaho

  Gordon opened his eyes to find Samantha looking at him. He smiled. “Good morning.”