Solar Reboot

by Matthew D. Hunt

  “No, not at all,” said Alex. He shrugged helplessly. “It’s just … my area of expertise is limited to running to the store and getting her some Maxi-Pads. I don’t know a lot about the … particulars.”

  Willow rolled her eyes. “Men. Well, we need to get her some real pads. Those rags are hardly very sanitary, and they won’t soak up much, anyway.”

  Piper emerged from around the rear of the truck. She still kept her eyes on her feet, and her cheeks hadn’t lost a speck of their color. “Okay,” she mumbled. “I’m, uh, done.”

  “Good job, sweetheart,” said Willow, patting her shoulder. “And I’ve got some Advil in the glove box. If you don’t need it already, you will soon.”

  Alex led the way back to the cab where Graham and Denny were waiting. Both men studiously avoided looking at Piper as she climbed back into the cab. Alex wished they wouldn’t make things even more awkward. But Willow turned to Graham as soon as the doors were shut against the rain.

  “Stop at the next town,” she said. “We need to make another pit stop—a real one this time.”

  * * *

  The next town was called Muddy, and just now, it deserved the name. Little more than a collection of gas stations and shops, it sat squalid and filthy in the rain. But about a mile off the road Alex saw an All-N-All, one of the warehouse store chains that had sprung up in the Midwest in recent years. Graham exited the freeway and made for the store, creeping along the town’s streets slowly.

  Almost immediately Alex felt that something was wrong. The lights were off at the gas station, and none of the other stores or little houses were lit. He might have expected the places of business to be abandoned, but the homes gave the town an ominous feel. His nerves were raw by the time they pulled into the store’s sizable parking lot. Graham stopped just off the street, putting the truck in park and leaving the engine to idle.

  The front doors of the All-N-All were open, but in front of them had been laid a barricade of shopping carts, tables and other furniture. Alex couldn’t see anybody manning the barricade, but it seemed clear it had been erected to keep people out, not in. That meant there were people inside the store, and if they’d built a barrier, he doubted they were friendly.

  “I’m gonna let you take care of this one,” said Graham. “We’ll wait here.”

  Piper seized Alex’s arm. “Dad, don’t,” she said. “I’ll be fine, I promise. We can wait until we—”

  “It’s fine, Piper,” said Alex. “Don’t worry. I’ll be fine.”

  He didn’t feel nearly as confident as he managed to sound, climbing out of the truck cab into the pouring rain. He approached the All-N-All slowly, resisting the urge to put his hands in the air. If there was anyone inside, they’d have set a watch. They’d see him coming. He only hoped that the fact he was alone, and hadn’t brought his gun, would keep them from killing him on sight.

  A gunshot rang out.

  Alex jumped. But the bullet ricocheted from the parking lot’s asphalt, at least five yards away. Either the people inside were terrible shots, or that was a warning shot. Alex desperately hoped it was the latter, a hope that seemed bolstered the longer he stood there without a second shot following the first. He hadn’t seen the shooter, only their muzzle flash from the blackness of the doorway.

  “Whoever you are, fuck off!” came a voice—a man. “Everything in here is ours!”

  “I’m not here to hurt you or steal anything,” called Alex, and now he did raise his hands. “I’m here to—”

  “We don’t care! I said fuck off!”

  Another gunshot. This one hit the parking lot as well, but closer.

  “I don’t want food!” said Alex. “Please! I just need some pads!”

  Dead silence from the store. Alex waited for a reply, but none came.

  “Pads, or tampons,” he called out. “We—listen, my daughter and I are traveling west, and … and she just—well, she just started her period. And it’s her first one, and we … listen, please. Please help us out here.”

  Whatever expected, it wasn’t what he got: a woman’s wild, almost hysterical guffaw burst out from the darkness of the store. It sounded like she was on the verge of having a conniption fit, but with who knew how many guns trained on him, Alex couldn’t share in the mirth. Still there was no actual reply, but only a prolonged silence.

  Then, out of the darkness of the store, a huge bulk-pack of Maxi Pads came flying out. It was followed half a second later by another. They landed on the asphalt only a few yards away from the store, a good distance away from Alex.

  “Thank you!” he called out. “Thank you, thank you so much!” He almost ran for the package, but thought better of it and approached slowly instead. He reached the two huge bulk packs and stooped to retrieve them, then turned back towards the truck.

  “Wait!” Alex stopped short and turned. It was the woman’s voice. He still couldn’t see her. But after another moment’s silence, two more packages came flying out of the All-N-All. He didn’t recognize them at first, until they landed and skidded to his feet. One was a bulk-pack of Midol. The other was a huge twelve-pack of Nutella.

  “God bless you!” called Alex. He wasn’t much for religion, but it was the Midwest—they probably were. “I hope like hell you make it through this!”

  He scooped up his prizes and ran for the truck like all get-out.

  CHAPTER 21

  Though the camp was on edge after the bear attack, things soon settled out back to normal. But Cameron gradually became aware of another problem. The first sign was when Bettie asked for help finding gardening tools for her team—there was only one shovel, and she didn’t have enough work to keep more than one person busy without more. But none of the other cabins had another shovel, or trowels, or tools for weeding.

  Then Scott went a whole day without working because he was trying to find shingles and tools to install them, but there weren’t any spares around. Cameron thought privately to herself that that was the sort of thing she would have expected Bill to have on hand.

  When next the community all got together, Cameron addressed them as a group to discuss the problem.

  “We’re pretty good on food, at least for a while,” she said. “But that’s not all we’re going to need. We’re short on a lot of tools we need to build and repair things, not to mention the gardening. Plus, I’ve got next to nothing when it comes to medical supplies and medicine. I want to send out a few parties to collect what we can from locations we can reach easily and safely.”

  “What places?” said Gina. “There aren’t any towns on the way up here.”

  Wade chimed in. “Not the way you drove up, but further in the mountains there’s a couple of small towns. Barely anything more than a collection of fast food joints and gas stations, really. People don’t live there, they just work there.”

  “Which means those stores are probably abandoned,” said Cameron.

  “So you’re talking about looting,” said Bill.

  “If anyone’s still manning the stores, we’ll pay for what we need,” said Cameron. “If not, we’ll take it. If it’ll help you sleep at night, Bill, I can promise I’ll make good on whatever we take after everything calms down. If it does.”

  “I’m not the one whose conscience needs stroking, honey.” For the thousandth time, she wanted to deck him. She turned away instead, addressing the rest of the group.

  “I’m going out, and I’m taking Bill, Russell and Chad with me. Bettie, Scott and I have made a list of what we need. We’ll pick up those items first, and then fill the rest of any vehicle space with non-perishable food. Can’t have too much of that.”

  “We should gas up while we’re at it,” said Russell. The big man was frowning in his beard. Cameron guessed he didn’t like the idea of raiding stores for goods. Truth be told, she wasn’t overjoyed at it, either, but she was grateful he didn’t argue.

  “Good call,” said Cameron. “Everyone else, do what you can with what you have until we get ba
ck.”

  “I should come,” said Wade.

  Cameron had expected that. “No. Two to each vehicle.”

  “Then let me swap out,” said Wade. “No offense to Chad and Russell. But you and I are vets. It only makes sense.” Cameron smiled inwardly as she noted he’d left Bill out of the no offense comment.

  “We’re not going into a war zone,” said Cameron. “We’ll be armed, but we’re not going to start any trouble, and I’m not expecting to find any. But I do need someone here to watch out for everyone while we’re gone. We’re taking all but one gun.”

  Wade’s jaw worked. But in the end he nodded, settling back down in his chair.

  “All right,” said Cameron. “We’ll load up and drive out in fifteen minutes. Use the bathroom if you need to, or so help me, I’ll turn the car around and drive straight back.”

  That drew a chuckle from everyone, even Bill, and the group broke up to get to work.

  * * *

  By unspoken agreement, Russell took Bill in his truck, while Cameron drove with Chad. Cameron was grateful—she knew she’d do something stupid if she had to be in the truck with Bill for half an hour, but the little weasel was always a lot more polite around Russell and his massive logger’s arms. Chad was mostly silent as Cameron drove the Jeep carefully through the rain, winding along the road deeper into the Cascades. He drummed the first two knuckles of his right hand on the window every so often, but not enough to be annoying. After a long silence, he turned abruptly to Cameron.

  “So were you, like, an officer?”

  Cameron blew a sigh through her nose. “Technically, yes. I was a medic, and that means I was an officer almost from day one. But I didn’t have a command. It’s more of an honorary thing.”

  “Oh.” Chad looked back out the window. “You just … you take charge. It seems like you’re used to it.”

  Cameron smirked. “In my experience, doctors are more likely to tell people what to do—and better at it—than officers.”

  Chad snorted. “Fair enough. It must have been wild. I mean, I’m a trucker. It’s rare enough seeing women in my line of work, and they don’t always have the easiest time of it when you do. Not that I mind,” he said quickly, raising his hands. “It’s just not every guy with an eighteen-wheeler thinks the same way I do. I can only imagine what it was like in the military.”

  “Not great, honestly,” said Cameron. “I mean, listen. Everyone tries not to bring it up, to act like it’s normal. But it’s something you can feel. Little looks, little comments. Not from everyone, but from enough.”

  “Did you serve active duty? Combat?”

  Her jaw clenched. “Some.”

  Thankfully Chad took the terse answer as a hint, and he didn’t press. He stayed quiet the rest of the drive.

  Soon afterward, they pulled into Merritt, a tiny little cluster of buildings nestled in a dell that looked like something straight out of a fantasy movie—if it weren’t for the garish Shell station sign poking over the trees that was visible for miles. Two gas stations, a McDonalds, a Burger King, a diner for fancy eating, and an All-N-All. That’s what passed for a town this deep in the mountains.

  Cameron pulled into the Shell station, and Russell pulled his truck in just behind her. The raised roof protected them from the rain while Russell broke open the pump and fiddled with the insides to make it produce gas. Cameron would happily have paid for it, but there was no attendant, and the card readers at the pumps were offline, just like most computers had been ever since the flare. Bill and Chad stayed in the Jeep and the truck while Cameron stood guard, rifle slung over her shoulder.

  Soon both vehicles and all the extra gas can were full. They loaded up once more and drove the short distance to the All-N-All. The huge warehouse store had its lights off and the front sliding door closed. There was an overhang protecting the door from rain. They backed the vehicles up right underneath it, backs to the door.

  “Okay,” said Cameron. “We know what’s on the list. Get our stuff, load up, and let’s get back as quick as we can.”

  Everyone grabbed shopping carts and headed in. The All-N-All was considerably smaller than the one she was used to shopping in just outside of Seattle, but it had the same high roof and high stacks of bulk goods. Such supplies were even more in demand here, not because of penny-pinching suburban moms, but because here the customers were often stocking cabins for months at a time. Cameron headed over to the pharmacy, where she went down her shopping list of medicines, bandages and other supplies.

  She saw a case of insulin in a refrigerator and picked it up. Staring at it in her hands, her thoughts drifted east, and she wondered what Piper was doing now. Probably complaining at something Alex was making her do in order to stay safe. A smirk tugged at Cameron’s lips, but her eyes began to sting. She blinked hard, lifting her chin and taking a deep breath. The insulin case clinked as she dropped it in the cart.

  Shouting erupted from the back of the All-N-All.

  Cameron abandoned her cart and pounded for the rear of the store, slinging the rifle off her back. She skidded around the last corner and into the back aisle, raising the gun.

  There stood Bill, brandishing his pistol. Russell and Chad were nowhere in sight. Ten feet away from Bill was a tall black man, hands raised in front of himself. He wore a backpack that bulged.

  “Get the fuck down on the ground!” screamed Bill. “Lay down!”

  “Don’t shoot! I just came for food!” the man screamed back.

  “Put your hands up and lay down!”

  “Bill!” shouted Cameron. “Bill, stop!”

  She sprinted for him, turning the rifle in her hands and raising the butt of it. But her movement made the man think Bill was distracted. He turned to flee for the back door of the All-N-All.

  Bill’s finger squeezed on the trigger three times. The stranger fell to the floor.

  Too late, Cameron brought the butt of the rifle crashing into the back of Bill’s head. He fell to the floor with a cry, the handgun falling from his grip and skidding across the floor. Chad and Russell finally appeared from the other side of the store.

  Bill rolled over and glared up at her. “What the fuck?”

  “Excuse me?” Cameron grabbed his shirt and dragged him to his feet, then threw him into a shelf of cereal. But then she thought of the man on the ground, and she ran past Bill to go to him.

  Russell knelt by the man’s side, three fingers to the neck. He looked up at her solemnly and shook his head.

  “God damn it!” cried Cameron. She turned away and put her hands on her hips, raising her face and closing her eyes. Calm. Breathe. Or you’ll do something you shouldn’t.

  She heard footsteps from Bill’s direction and turned. She saw him walking towards his handgun, stooping to pick it up. His movements were slow, unhurried. He picked it up and shoved it in the back of his waistband.

  Cameron approached him. He tensed, raising his hands to ward off a punch—but she took one hand and twisted it around behind his back until he squealed. With her other hand she took the pistol from his belt, and then she shoved him away.

  “Give that back,” said Bill, rounding on her.

  “Like hell. You’ve lost firearm privileges.”

  “Give it back! It’s my gun!”

  Russell pushed past Cameron and seized the front of Bill’s shirt, shoving him against the refrigerators that lined the back of the store. The glass cracked. “Shut up, asshole. You just killed a guy. You’re lucky we don’t just leave you here.” He glanced over his shoulder at Cameron. “We’re not just gonna leave him here, are we?”

  Cameron had been thinking the same thing. That or giving Bill the same treatment he’d given the stranger. But she shook her head.

  “No,” she said, growling. “But he loses firearm privileges and he’s off security. Get your ass out of here Bill. We’ll get the supplies and load them up.”

  Russell shoved Bill toward the front of the store, and Bill slunk off, glancing ba
ck darkly over his shoulder every few steps. Cameron watched until he was out of sight. Then she glanced at Russell.

  “You’ve got the key to your truck, right?” she said.

  “Yeah. I can’t believe that guy.”

  Cameron stalked off toward her shopping cart.

  * * *

  As they drove back into the cabin community, Cameron felt that something was wrong. That was confirmed as Scott came running towards her Jeep from the clubhouse, waving his arms in the air. Cameron pulled to a stop and rolled down the window.

  “What is it?”

  “Bettie’s hurt,” said Scott. “She’s in your cabin, some guys attacked them and they—”

  Cameron punched the accelerator, cutting off the last of his words. She sped the short distance to the cabin and screeched into the driveway, diving out of the driver’s seat and running in through the front door.

  Bettie lay on the couch in the living room. Her dark skin was a couple of shades paler. A white cloth was wrapped around her arm, and it was stained with blood. Hernando and Gina were with her.

  “What happened?” said Cameron. She kept the panic out of her voice, but her hands were shaking as she began to unwrap the bandage.

  “I’m fine,” said Bettie, trying to push her away. But her touch was feather light. Chad came in the front door, looking at them all with wide eyes.

  “What happened?” said Cameron, looking up at Hernando.

  “We went out fishing,” said Hernando. “I wasn’t there, but some guys showed up. They tried to rob her and Scott, and—”

  “Go get Scott,” said Cameron.

  “I’m here,” said Scott, pounding in through the front door.

  Cameron didn’t look up at him, keeping her eyes on Bettie’s arm. The bandage came off, revealing a deep cut across her bicep. Fresh blood seeped out as the cloth came off.

  “How many were there?’ said Cameron.