by Hayden James
“Now, what is your guy’s plan?” Mr. Patterson asked.
“After we get out of town and avoid the Bubbas, we are planning on heading to my grandpa’s house in Townsend,” answered Liam.
“Oh, Townsend. That’s up in the Smoky Mountains,” replied Mr. Patterson.
“Right,” Liam said. “What is your plan? Are you going to leave Nashville and go somewhere?”
“Nah. I don’t think this situation is that dire. I’m not worried about what is happening. Plus, I’m stocked up for over a year, as I said,” responded Mr. Patterson.
“Are you sure?” Liam asked. “You can come with us. It should only take us a few days to get to Townsend. We can walk slowly so you can keep up.”
“Nah, I don’t need you guys to walk with me. I have a car that might run,” interrupted Mr. Patterson.
“You have a car! That’s fantastic. It must be one of those older models then,” exclaimed Prue. “If you have to go, you’ll not have to worry about walking.”
“Right. You’ll definitely need a car if you stay and then find yourself having to go,” emphasized Liam.
“No, I’m not leaving,” answered Mr. Patterson. “My wife, Beth, is in the cemetery two blocks from here and I can’t leave her. But, I could loan you two the car.”
“Why don’t you want to hold on to your car just in case you need to use it?” Prue asked.
“You see, I’m legally blind. I can’t drive. There would be no way. As I aged, my eyes went bad. It was the worse day of my life when they took my driver’s license away from me. But, it was time. Now, I don’t miss it,” explained Mr. Patterson. “I’m not even sure if it’ll run.”
“Wow! Good thing you didn’t shoot at us then,” laughed Liam. “I didn’t realize you’re legally blind.”
“Yeah, my vision has deteriorated, but I can make my way around just fine. Right! I have no business driving or shooting guns anymore. I keep good ol’ Betsy for intimidation,” explained Mr. Patterson.
“Betsy? That’s your gun’s name?” Prue asked.
“Right! Betsy the Blaster. She has a wide and deep-penetrating spray. Since I’m blind, I can’t miss,” joked Mr. Patterson. He continued, “Since I can’t drive anymore, and need a win-spraying shotgun, why don’t you two borrow my car? Again, I’m not sure if it runs, but we could sure try.”
“Wow! That’s very generous,” Liam said, amazed by the generosity of Mr. Patterson. Then he looked down and back at Mr. Patterson, “Sir, Please come with us. It’s your best bet. With your vehicle, we could make it to Townsend in no time and my grandpa has supplies that will last us years. We could put your stockpile in the trunk. What do you think?”
“Sorry, Liam. I can’t. I can’t leave my dear wife here. I don’t know what she’d do without me. I swore I’d never leave her. I never thought she’d leave me,” answered Mr. Patterson.
Listening to this was painful for both Prue and Liam, but they realized that he could not leave Nashville, nor his wife. “I understand,” responded Liam.
Mr. Patterson got up from his seat and went to the kitchen cabinet. He took a key that was hanging on a nail from the inside of the cabinet. It had a butterfly key chain attached to the single steel key. Mr. Patterson sat back down and slid the key over to Liam. “There she is. My pride and joy. Wish I got the chance to drive her around more,” lamented Mr. Patterson.
Liam looked astonished at holding the key to a vintage vehicle. “Wow! What is it?” he asked.
“It’s the keys to my baby. I tried to restore it over the years after I came across a decent one. I wish I had worked harder on it, but alas, it is what it is. Bring her back when you’re done with her. Go out and see her, she’s in the garage,” explained Mr. Patterson.
Both Prue and Liam cleaned their plates in the kitchen with a tiny amount of water from one of Mr. Patterson’s stockpiled gallon jugs. Prue collected Chewy and put him back in her backpack and Liam grabbed his pack and put it on his back. Then Mr. Patterson walked them out to the detached garage on the side of the house.
“Whoa! It’s a 1957 Chevy,” shouted Liam. “I haven’t seen one of these in years. A friend from high school had one that his dad, and him restored. Wow! Incredible!”
The 1957 Chevy 4-door Bel Air sedan was navy blue with a white roof. White wall tires and chrome plated hardware shined in the light that came through the garage window.
“Go on, see if it will start up,” encouraged Mr. Patterson.
Prue waited by Mr. Patterson while Liam went to see if the car would start. The 235.5 ci 6-cylinder engine. After sitting down in the driver’s side seat and taking in the vintage vehicle, he put the key in the ignition and turned it. The engine cranked, but would not turn over. He looked puzzled at Mr, Patterson. “Try it again. This time as you turn the key, push the gas pedal. The engine probably needs some gas to get it to start.”
Liam nodded and then tried it again. He pushed the gas pedal as he turned the key. The engine cranked. He pushed the gas pedal one more time. The gas injected into the carburetor, making the engine startup.
The engine roared as the entire vehicle shook from the vibrating engine. “I’m sure the timing is off with the engine. It’s going to be a rough ride. It might get better as you guys go,” explained Mr. Patterson. “Here, let me open the garage door for you.”
Mr. Patterson went and unlatched the garage door, rolling it up on the rails. “There you go!” Mr. Patterson said once he got the garage door up. “You should have a full tank of gas in there.”
Liam checked the fuel gauge and replied, “Yes, sir! It’s full.”
Prue got in the passenger’s side. “Wow! This car is amazing,” she said noticing the vintage leather seats and the old AM radio in the dash. She set her pack between her feet and put Chewy on the back seat. The little dog was engulfed by the plush leather bench back seat. He stood on his hind legs, his front paws on the car door, looking out the window. His tail wagged with excitement. He loved car rides. He gave a little bark, telling Liam he wanted him to drive the car.
Liam put the car in reverse and backed the car out of the garage. He paused the car for a moment and said to Mr. Patterson, “Thank you. We owe you everything.”
“Think nothing of it. What was I going to do with a car that I could not operate?” Mr. Patterson replied as the two shook hands. “Be careful. And when you get a chance, bring her on back. If not, I understand. Bye little doggie, I hope you enjoyed your chicken.”
As Liam fully backed the car out of the garage, both of them noticed the large stockpile Mr. Patterson had. Piles and piles of food and water were stacked from floor to ceiling. Mr. Patterson was not exaggerating at what he had. That eased Liam’s mind a little, as he was worried about Mr. Patterson.
“Hey, Prue,” Liam said as the two headed down the streets.
“Yes?”
“Can you take out the maps from my pack and be the navigator for me?”
“Of course,” answered Prue. She reached for Liam’s pack and took out one of the maps that they got from the gas station where they encountered the Bubbas.
Prue examined the map. After studying it, she figured out the route they need to take. She said, “All right! We are going to want to get on Interstate 40 and head east. Once we get to Knoxville, we will take the 321 over to Townsend.”
“Great. How do I get on Interstate 40?” Liam asked.
“You are going to want to make a left up here. Then a few more streets you will turn right. Then we can take the on-ramp on to Interstate 40.
“You made your directions sound so easy,” joked Liam. Hours had gone by, and Liam and Prue were still not out of Nashville.
“It was easy on the map,” replied Prue, frustrated at the situation that they found themselves in.
“If it weren’t for all of these cars, we’d be out of here by now,” lamented Liam as he turned to avoid another stalled car blocking the road. “And with no power steering in this car, my arms are getting quite a wo
rkout.”
Both Liam and Prue saw something up on the horizon, but they were still too far away to make it out. “What is that?” Prue asked.
“I can’t tell.”
“It looks like the road ends, there looks like something white is blocking it, but I can’t make it out,” affirmed Prue.
As they grew closer, they could see what was blocking the road. They were on the headed to the outskirts of Nashville and onto the Interstate when they saw a mass of cars blocking the Interstate and all onramps. “Gees, this place is clogged up,” Liam said, looking at all the stalled cars. “There’s no way we can get through any of this.”
“Let me check the map and see if there is another way we can get onto the Interstate,” interjected Prue.
“All right, make a right here,” stated Prue as she examined the map.
More cars were sprinkled on the roads, and they ran into the occasional car fire, but most had burned out by now. Liam maneuvered around the cars, growing more and more frustrated by the moment.
“Make a left.”
“Easier said than done,” reminded Liam as he weaved his way in and out of cars. However, Prue navigated him toward a lesser congested part of the Interstate where they were able to get on.
“Look, we can get on over there,” concluded Prue.
Liam followed Prue’s instructions, making the necessary turns and not running into the Bubbas. They head onto Interstate 40 several miles from where they had intended on entering it and headed east.
They enjoyed the freedom of having a vehicle, no threat of the Bubbas, and they enjoyed listening to the roar of the engine that softened as it kept running. The two made a great time as they barreled down the interstate. Within forty minutes, they had crossed the city limits of Nashville, and Liam was glad to have that city behind him. This signified that they had made progress, and they were well on their way to Townsend, to seek refuge at his grandpa’s.
Chapter Sixteen
William Conner
Vacant Office Building
Columbus, IN
5:03 PM
“They’ll be back soon,” he muttered to himself. “They’ll find my girls. Goodness, I don’t know what I would do with out them. William attempted to calm his nerves as he sat in the dark waiting. He was worried beyond measure about his two girls and now his wife. Natasha slept on one of the office couches and Regis slept right under her on the floor. The effects of William’s concussion were wearing off, and he was beginning to feel more like himself. Thankfully for him, Vince and Gary were wrong, and he did not have a skull fracture. He did, however, have a severe concussion.
He was about to doze off when Rachel, Gary, and Vince came through the door on their bicycles. Rachel was still frantic from the sight of her babies tied up with a crowd of men drinking at the bar. What were these men thinking? Unfortunately, she knew what they were thinking.
“Will! Will! We found them!” Rachel shouted, walking her bike through the door that Gary held open for her. Gary and Vince followed her to the lobby of the office building.
The news excited William. “What? You really found them! Thank God!” shouted William. After looking around he asked, “Well, where are they. I thought you’d have them?”
Vince decided to explain the plan, “We are going to wait until nightfall before we go and rescue them. From what Rachel said, there seems to be at least ten men inside a bar along with the two girls tied to each other, sitting at one of the tables inside the bar.”
Gary interjected, “We thought it would be best if we waited until they had been drinking for several hours before we came in for our rescue. That’d way we would have the advantage over their sheer numbers over us.”
“Makes sense,” replied William.
Rachel asked William, “How are you feeling?” She put her hand on William’s forehead to see if he was cold and clammy. He wasn’t. He seemed to be doing much better.
“I feel a lot better,” answered William. “I no longer feel hot and dizzy. I think I got some much-needed rest.” Williams color appeared as it returned to his face.
Gary got the conversation back to the task at hand, “So we are thinking that we will leave Regis to watch over Natasha here, while the four of us go back to infiltrate the bar.”
William agreed, “I think Natasha will be safe here as long as she has Regis with her.”
Vince then said, “While we wait for nightfall, Gary and I are going to go check on our grandmother and make sure she’s doing all right. We will be back in a few hours before the raid.”
Rachel was so grateful to these brothers. “Thanks, guys. I appreciate all of your help. You have done more than enough for us. I hope your grandma is doing just fine.”
“We will be back, we promise,” replied Vince. “Think nothing of it. You’d do the same for us.” Before the disaster struck, Rachel was not sure if she would go out of her way to help strangers. However, since she was the recipient of so many acts of kindness throughout her entire journey, she would feel compelled to help anyone, no matter the cost.
She gave them each a hug, “Safe travels, and make it back here as fast as you can.”
They both nodded, and Gary replied, “We will.”
Vince said, “See you in a few.” They mounted their bikes and William held the door for them as they took off down the road to their grandmother’s house.
“Do you think they’re coming back?” Rachel asked. Several hours went by. It was taking the brothers a lot longer than Rachel expected it would take for them to go a few neighborhoods over to check on their grandma and get her some supplies. Rachel thought they must have had a difficult time getter her water or something like that.
“I’m fairly certain,” replied William.
“Well, wouldn’t they be back by now?”
“I would assume, but maybe something stopped them up. We aren’t making our descent on the bar until the wee hours in the morning. Not until those men get sloppy drunk.”
“You’re right. We have plenty of time. I’m just worried about them. Those are two of the nicest men I have ever met.”
“You seem like you really like them,” admitted William.
“Well, they did save my life.”
“I know, you already told me.”
Just then, Vince and Gary returned from visiting their grandma’s house. They came through the office building doors, seeing William and Rachel in an embrace on the couch. William comforted Rachel, stroking her hair. She was bothered terribly over the torture she could only imagine that her dear twin daughters were going through. She tried to block out the ugly thoughts. She could not focus on that. However, those thoughts came creeping back into her conscience.
Rachel’s face lit up after she saw Vince and Gary return. “Welcome back guys. How was your grandma?” Rachel asked getting up to greet them by the doorway.
The two brothers looked distraught as if they’d seen a ghost. They also looked somber as Vince answered, “Dead. She’s dead.” Just saying those words brought Vince to tears.
Gary consoled him as he crouched down and wept. Gary said to Rachel, “Vince and grandma were very close. We both have a lot of guilt over this. We wish we would have gotten here sooner.”
Rachel gasped, “Oh no! My heart broke for you guys just now. Do you know what happened?”
William joined them over by the doorway. Natasha was still sleeping on the couch with Regis under her, keeping watch. Vince, still not able to speak calmed down. Gary answered, “She was oxygen-dependent. She must have passed a couple of days ago, shortly after the pulse hit. I’m sure her oxygen concentrator worked on its charge for a while, but after that died, her lungs were probably not getting enough oxygen to keep the oxygen levels in her blood high enough—”
Rachel could not hear anymore. She interrupted Gary with, “I’m so sorry. Is there anything I could do?”
Vince regained composure. “Not, there’s nothing you can do. Gosh, she was our only family beside
s our mom. And we don’t like her new boyfriend, so for us, she was it,” explained Vince.
“Goodness, boys. I feel horrible. Why don’t you two come with us to my dad’s in Townsend, Tennessee? We will have plenty of supplies for you guys. It’s the least we could do to repay you. Rachel told me how you saved her yesterday. I owe you guys everything,” said William.
“Wow! That’s so nice. What a great offer,” replied Gary, taken aback by the generous offer.
“Yeah, we’d really like that,” responded Vince, relieved that they did not have to go back down to Sellersburg to be with their mother’s boyfriend that no one liked.
William joked, “But first we have to get my twins back.”
Gary laughed, “Without question.”
“I can’t wait for you guys to meet Grandpa Dwight,” joked Rachel, attempting to lighten the mood.
“That’s right,” said Gary as he was reminded of all the good things that they had heard about Grandpa Dwight. “We’ve heard so much about him. I feel like I know him already.”
William caught onto the joke. “So Rachel’s been telling you stories about Grandpa Dwight? Let’s just say, he’s prepared for this disaster. He’s been preparing for my whole life. Probably his entire life. The second we see him he’s going to give me the I told you so look, so be watching for that.”
The room erupted in laughter at the thought of William’s awkward reunion with his dad.
Day Five
Chapter Seventeen
Rachel Conner
Vacant Office Building
Columbus, IN
2:03 AM
“I think it’s early enough in the morning that those drunks are good and passed out by now if we want to begin our raid,” advised Gary, looking through the window and seeing complete darkness.