Dystopia: The Long Road

by DJ Cooper

  Motioning John and Ray to follow, he said, “I need to talk to you about some things.”

  They followed him outside where he told them of some dangers he had heard over the airwaves. He admonished them to steer clear of the cities, and that they would need to stay off the roads as much as possible.

  John anxiously asked, “How are we supposed to travel if we can’t drive on the road?”

  Gerald said, “I am part of a network that will help you get there, but it will be difficult.”

  Gerald continued to explain that the gang that watched over them were also not accepting of visitors. He said they needed to be ready to go in two days. The plan was to get them out of the area over the power line easements. They had a relay of four wheelers that could carry them as far as the West Virginia, Kentucky line. After that they would have to walk.

  John said, “I think we would rather take our chances in the vehicles.”

  Ray reached out and touched his shoulder saying, “I wanna hear the rest of what he has to say.”

  He continued, “I spoke with Arthur and he believes that overland is the way to go as well. The breakdown in the cities is beyond any hope of control and FEMA is still trying to round people up.”

  Ray asked, “What about Mandy, Julie and the kids?”

  Gerald said, “At the border of this territory there will be two groups, one to continue with those going to Kentucky, the other to take them to the territory of Ohio.”

  Ray looked confused, asking, “Territories?”

  Gerald looked troubled, saying, “Much of the area has been split into territories, much like turf that gangs fight over. I told you they don’t take kindly to visitors, especially ones that haven’t paid tribute.”

  Again, Ray asked, “Tribute?”

  Gerald was frustrated, saying, “Tribute, yes… they will take whatever they think they deserve. Do you remember Lana, the young lady who brought casserole? She was the tribute and that is what they did to her. We need to get your women out of here. If they catch you inside their territory they will not look kindly on it and exact a high price.”

  Ray nodded and said they were grateful for all his help asking, “When do we leave?”

  Gerald said, “Morning after next, I need time to set up the relay and supply caches.”

  The group enjoyed a few days of rest before the final leg of their journey would begin. They talked about the plan and expressed excitement over their impending arrival. Mandy and Julie were told of the plan to get them to Ohio and were sent to get the information to Gerald.

  The next day was spent repacking what could be taken and relaxing, again, they were brought dinner and took showers in preparation for their journey.

  As the sun set everyone settled in for a good night’s sleep only Roger remained awake watching out the front window. Just about the end of his watch he saw a figure darting across the yard. Jumping up his hand on his sidearm he made his way to the side door. It was the young lady whom had brought food that first day.

  Roger let her in where she hurriedly gave him her message. “Gerald said, be ready to go in five minutes, also to tell you, time is up and to hurry.”

  As quietly as she came, she left back out the side door and along the row of houses.

  Roger woke Dickie saying, “It’s go time, get everyone ready. Five minutes is all we have been given so let’s get everyone ready.”

  They were all ready and packed in five minutes waiting for the word to move.

  Chapter 22

  “The Relay”

  “All Tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent.”

  -Thomas Jefferson

  The knock came right on time, when they opened the door Gerald stood in the doorway a look of horror on his face.

  “Quickly.” He said.

  They followed silently into the night, not even sure of where they were going. As promised they were lead to a group of four wheelers waiting to take them out of the territory. John turned and shook Gerald’s hand, thanking him for all their help.

  The coordination needed to pull off such an effort was staggering John at one point had explained to Amy. The first day brought them to the edge of the territory at the southernmost point. What they witnessed was what Dickie called amazing.

  There were cache points all along the trail. They stopped for breakfast and fuel where they were given coffee, eggs, bacon, grits and hash browned potatoes. Snacks and drinks were handed out and drivers were changed four wheelers fueled. Again at lunch the same thing, hot soup and sandwiches with lemonade.

  By the evening meal they were all exhausted but still could not stop. They were fed a hearty stew with fresh biscuits and more coffee. They were each given a small sack with snacks and supplies for the evening. At the edge of the territory they were told to camp until the next territory’s relay was to begin.

  They camped two days before they could safely travel through the territory. During the two days of camping again, they were provided with meals and essentials. They were instructed to have no fires or flashlights and to remain in camp and as quiet as possible.

  During the second evening a patrol was spotted walking the power lines and the group then understood the caution of their benefactors. At one point Amy asked one of the men guarding the camp his name.

  He kindly refused and said, “I’m sorry ma’am but we don’t want to know your names and you can’t know ours. We don’t even know where you are going except our specific leg of your route. Don’t be offended if we don’t talk to you much this is for your safety and ours. If anyone is questioned none of us can give any information.

  Amy went to John saying, “I’m not sure if I should be grateful or terrified.”

  John reassured her saying, “I know babe, but I believe they are truly working this to best help us while insulating themselves.”

  Dickie overhearing them told her that he agreed with John. They were instructed to have all gear packed at all times in case they had to leave quickly. This was also part of the reason food was provided, they could not cook and gear remained intact except when in their tents.

  They had all been saying goodbyes to Mandy and Julie, Aaron and Mary for two days, but this morning the time came, they were first to head out.

  Jules was struggling more each day as her insulin became almost useless. Laurie seeing her condition brought her behind a tree to administer a triple dose of insulin in hopes it would keep her going.

  One of the drivers saw this and asked about her supply. He was told it was almost worthless at this point. He nodded and returned to his position without another word.

  Laurie insisted on having Jules sit in the cart with Matty and the gear, afraid she was too weak to hold on. Periodically during the morning ride, Laurie noticed the driver who had asked about the insulin, looking at Jules. When they stopped for lunch, she told Amy what happened at camp. Amy reassured her that his ride was over.

  Four wheelers fueled and the group fed it was on to the next leg of their journey. But as they were preparing to leave Laurie saw the man pointing to her and talking to another driver that would be carrying them to the dinner location.

  Laurie approached the driver and said, “I know that last driver is concerned for Jules but please do not tell the others about her.”

  The driver said, “Don’t worry ma’am, I won’t say anything.”

  The road was rough in this section and a few times they had to go through some of the wooded areas off the main access road, making the trip very bumpy. The travelers were weary by the time they arrived at the dinner rendezvous.

  When they arrived the driver Laurie had previously spoken with immediately went to the lady handing out the food. They both then searched inside a cooler, when he returned, he asked Laurie to come and check on something for him. Once away from the crowd, he handed her two insulin pens. Apologizing for it only being two he told her they were good and that she only needed the normal dosage.


  Laurie began to cry thanking him. She quickly led Jules to a private area where they could test her blood sugar and administer the fresh insulin. Jules was crying because the muscle cramps were so bad she could hardly walk. This was one of the signs her kidneys were failing and both she and Jules knew it. Laurie went to Dickie and told him that he and Georgia needed to spend time with her.

  Again their meal was filling and they each were given a small satchel of things for the evening. After the meal they returned to the vehicles with the fresh drivers and set off for the territory border. It would only be one more day of travel and they would reach the Kentucky border.

  Much as the previous nights had been they were to have no fire or lights of any kind. They were once again instructed to remain quiet and alert. Everyone settled into tents except those on watch. John and Dickie were on first watch and each sat motionless, watching in the darkness.

  John whispered to Dickie near midnight, “You’ve been quiet these past few days is everything alright?”

  Dickie nodded up and down silently, his eyes never leaving an outcropping of bushes to his left. He signaled John to be silent and move around to the side of the bushes. John immediately took the cue and began moving laterally from where they were to a position near the bushes, while Dickie approached them head on.

  The bushes rustled and something moved startling John into action. John leapt at the place he saw the silhouette, while Dickie moved in closer. John surprised the figure who made a low growl in anticipation of his attack. Dickie, stopping his advance, frantically waved to John but it was too late. John was already into the bushes with the intruder. The bear howled loudly as its massive paw struck John, knocking him to the ground. The claws leaving behind a set of bloody gashes across his chest.

  Dickie could see John laying lifeless in front of the bear. Trying to think he began waving his arms, he ran right at it, just hoping he could look big enough to frighten it off. The bear pawed at John a few more times before retreating into the forest. Dickie rushed over to John and checking him could see he was still alive.

  By now everyone was up and wondering about the noise. Dickie grabbed Amy and ran back to John, Mark followed with Ray right behind. They carried him to the tents and got him comfortable in their tent.

  Amy with tears, said to Dickie, “I can’t see anything to check on him.”

  Dickie looked thoughtful a moment, then said, “I gotta idea.”

  He went outside the tent and asked everyone for their blankets, coats and anything that would block the light. In moments they returned, arms full of the requested items.

  Looking at Ray he said, “In World War two, they would block out the light because of air raids. Let’s just black out the tent.”

  Ray immediately understood what he wanted to do and they began to drape the tent with blankets. Once they were finished Amy was told to turn on the lantern. A few small cracks of light could be seen which were quickly covered. She could now assess the wounds and check him out. The entire time she scolded him for his carelessness.

  Amy began to look at the gashes and check him for other injuries. She requested her first aid bag and some water, which Roger and Jenny had already gone for and handed it to her through a small opening in the tent. By now John was awake and except for needing stitches was doing fine. Amy stitched him up and gave him some pain killers to help him sleep.

  Roger and Ray took the watch lasting until daylight and talked of what they would do once they reached Kentucky. The ride through the power lines would end when they reached the Kentucky border and there was no telling what would be their options from there.

  The morning of their last day on the four wheelers they were served a large breakfast and told that Arthur was updated on their location and situation.

  An older lady approached Laurie handing her a small pouch while grasping her hand said, “I hope this helps.” Laurie opened the pouch to find five more insulin pens, in tears she thanked the lady and hurried over to show Amy.

  John was up and moving when the guys came over to talk with him. Setting up a map of Kentucky that had been given them, they showed him red dots on it. There had been caches set up and the locations marked on the map.

  Ray looked up from the map saying, “I figure it is about one hundred forty miles left to go.”

  John did some quick math in his head and said, “If we can go ten miles per day we could get there in about two weeks.”

  Roger looked around their group and said, “I wonder if we could maintain that pace.”

  Dickie looked at Roger, who nodded to him and began to speak, “I don’t know if Jules could keep up, you may need to leave us behind.”

  They all looked at him and simultaneously began to object. John waved his arms for them to quiet and spoke, saying, “We are not leaving anyone.”

  Roger nodding said, “We will find a wagon or something, it will help with gear as well.”

  John patted Dickie on the shoulder and said, “We are all family now and there will be no further discussion about leaving anyone. We will figure it out if we have to build a litter and take turns carrying her.”

  Roger looked at Dickie who was already humbled by the gesture and said, “Tell them.”

  Ray looked at Roger and said, “Tell us what?”

  Dickie had tears in his eyes as he spoke, “Jules is going to die.”

  John gasped asking, “What do you mean, she is going to die?”

  Dickie continued, “Her kidneys are failing, the pregnancy is too much on her. She is diabetic and they warned us that even with the best of care there was a chance her kidneys would fail. We were planning to have a backup plan for her sister to donate one if they did. Jules really wanted this baby and now her only wish was that the baby be ok. The kidneys are struggling and Amy isn’t sure the baby is far enough along if something goes wrong.”

  The men all stood silent processing what Dickie had just said.

  Dickie continued saying, “We didn’t want to be a burden on the group.”

  Ray angrily said, “You could have told us, we could have been looking for insulin or other things she might need.”

  Dickie said, “We have insulin, Amy and Laurie have been closely monitoring her blood sugar. We knew when she fainted before the shower that something was wrong and have been just trying to keep her going.”

  John stormed off grumbling something that had multiple expletives inserted. Talking to one of the riders he asked if there was any way that they could find a wagon or garden cart along the way, that they would need it for Jules.

  The rider told him he would see what could be done and walked over to one of the relieved riders and began talking to him. He returned to John explaining that it seemed that the people who had been transporting them knew she was in bad shape and had been getting them insulin and other things. He told John that there were things for her care at the final drop and said they should get moving.

  The day's travels were much like the others before, except there was a more somber attitude among the travelers. When they reached the final stop at the Kentucky border, there was a very nice garden cart for Jules that had cushions in it for her comfort, and a second cart for gear. There was food and solar showers set up for everyone to get cleaned up. They would sleep in beds this night at an old hotel that seemed like it had not seen guests in many years.

  The following day would launch them into the final miles in their journey. With almost seven hundred fifty miles behind them the last one forty seemed like a cake walk. Some of them worried about what lay ahead while others just reveled in their showers and grand meal that was set before them.

  John could not help but feel grateful for the assistance Gerald had mustered for them and wished that someday he could repay the service.

  John and Dickie were outside watching the sun set as two of their drivers approached.

  One who had been the driver for Kimmie and Renee said, “Be careful of the ladies they are not your ally.”


  John looked over to where Kimmie and Renee were animatedly talking, saying, “This we know, they cannot be cut loose, yet cannot be trusted either.”

  The other man handed John a paper saying, “Do not let anyone see this outside of you two.”

  John looked to the paper and began to ask, but was swiftly cut short by the man who said, “For now just put it away, look at it when there is more privacy. Another thing to keep in mind, this is Appalachia, people don’t take kindly to strangers. Be very careful who you talk to and who you trust, stick to the map you were given.”

  John nodded and thanked them, as they walked away Dickie looked at John quizzically and they both shrugged and went inside to eat.

  Mark was visibly unsettled and John asked him what was wrong. Mark replied, “I am not sure, something is somehow off about things.”

  John said, “I agree, we will keep a good eye out and start off early.”

  Chapter 23

  “Overland”

  “The flaw in being civilized is that it permit’s the uncivilized among us to perpetrate horrific crimes against us in the name of freedom and equality.”

  -M. J. Croan

  November 9th

  The morning came too soon for John, he felt as though he’d been beaten and tortured, his wounds aching and bruised from the impact of the bear claws the night before. John, Mark, Dickie, Ray, Danny and Roger sat at a table scrutinizing the map, hovering around it like a scene from an old war movie; while Amy, Laurie, Melinda and Jenny cooked for the day’s travels. Matty and Georgia sat with Jules and talked of missing their new friends. Everyone seemed occupied and it almost felt normal for a few moments.

  Mark looked around saying, “Where is Renee and Kimmie?”

  No one could recall seeing them that morning, Mark hurried to the rooms looking for them. John asked if any of the night’s sentries had seen them leaving, and no one could recall anyone leaving or even seeing them since they first arrived.