by C A Bird
“Well, Clay’s dead, and Danny seems to be growing up, so I guess we can hang out all we want, huh?”
He looked over at her and their eyes met. He started to say something as he reached for her hand.
Then the moment was shattered as Willy kicked the hacky sack high over Danny’s head and it landed smack in the middle of the fire. Coals crackled and a shower of embers soared into the sky. They all just stared into the fire as the hacky sack burst into red flames, a bright spot in the yellow coals, and was consumed in seconds.
“Well, I guess I’ll go to bed,” Willy said.
“You’re such a dick,” his brother told him, as they headed off to their sleeping bags.
Everyone else called it a night, and they were lulled to sleep by the murmuring sound of the Rio Grande.
***
As they rode westward the next morning, a dark, smoky plume was outlined against the sky. They’d been traveling for over two weeks, and were looking forward to reaching the small town of Antonito… but the smoke cast a pall over their anticipation.
Their supplies were running low, they needed new clothes and they hoped to find more beer. Hours later, as they drew closer to the town, the plume of smoke appeared wider and was being blown southward to the horizon.
Riding on the seat beside Mark, with Kevin in between, Lori looked horrified. “Oh my God, Mark. This looks bad. It looks like the whole town’s gone up in smoke.”
Before Mark could even suggest it, Matthew crawled up from the back of the wagon where he had been sleeping, and suggested, “Einstein and I are going to ride ahead and check out the town. I think you should make camp here and wait for us to report.”
“Thanks Matthew, I was hoping you would do just that. Be careful.”
“We will. Mike, Aaron and Greg have sentry duty. We should be back in a few hours.” He climbed down from the wagon and whistled for Chief. Once Einstein had saddled Jasper, they rode off at a canter toward the billowing smoke in the distance.
Circling the wagons, they made camp, waiting for the men to return with news of the town. It was now midafternoon, and except for the smoke in the west, the sky was clear, the sun shining brightly. A couple of hours later it began its descent. The children, Sheri and the Yancey boys were playing tag around the wagons when dust clouds in the distance indicated Matthew and Einstein were returning.
They came galloping across the plains and pulled up the horses to a trot before entering the perimeter of the wagons. Matthew dropped Chief’s reins and approached a group standing around a roaring campfire while Einstein tied his horse off to one of the wagons.
“Hi guys,” Matthew greeted them. “It’s bad news and good news. About half the town, mostly to the east of the main street, has burned to the ground. To the west of the road, the town is still intact. We didn’t see any inhabitants. It doesn’t seem very large but it’s bigger than the last place. I think we’ll still be able to find supplies.”
Einstein walked over and stuck out his hands to warm them by the fire. The temperature had begun to drop now that the sun was close to setting. It had dipped behind the smoke on the horizon creating a spectacular display of orange and yellow colors fanning upward.
“When we get there in the morning, me and Matthew will go ahead and check it out more thoroughly to be sure it’s safe. Then the rest of you can come into town.”
***
Morning arrived with a stiff wind blowing out of the north. Even though Matthew and Einstein had been part of the night sentry crew, they were insistent that they check out the town again that morning before the rest of them arrived. The wagons moved out toward Antonito. Matthew and Einstein were mounted, with Jimbo on his motorcycle and Mike, Greg and Mark preceding them on foot. They split up and approached the town from different directions.
Half the town had burned and the ruins were still smoldering. A couple of hotspots could still be seen burning at the extreme north side of town. They crossed Main Street to the west, dismounted, and cleared one section. Weapons out, they moved from building to building shouting, “clear!” once they determined it was empty. Matthew left Chief back on Main Street where the others were searching, and went ahead on foot to ensure they weren’t surprised by anyone.
Once they had cleared a complete block, Jimbo jumped on his motorcycle and headed back to get the wagons. They drove them into town and turned left on Main Street, riding past the yellow railroad station for the Cumbres and Toltec Narrow Gauge Train. The historical train ran between Antonito and Chama, New Mexico. There were several brown, observation cars, each with a dozen large windows, and an old fashioned steam engine. They stopped in front of the Narrow Gauge Railroad Inn.
“Man, I’m looking forward to sleeping in a bed tonight,” Jimbo told them. “Mark said to leave the wagons here. Einstein’s already set up some sentries and the rest of you can come into town on foot. It seems to be safe.”
Aaron climbed into the wagon with Chris. “Honey, I’ll stay with the baby since she’s running a temp. You go on into town and see if you can find us some clothes.”
“What you really need is a good bath.”
“Yeah well, good luck. If you find a tub full of really hot water let me know and we can share.”
Chris jumped out of the wagon and started toward town on foot, along with Lori and half a dozen others. Even though the way had been cleared, they approached the town with caution. On the right side of Main Street all that was left of the buildings was bent steel, collapsed concrete and bricks, and smoking ruins. Chris saw a sign, partially burned and leaning against a brick wall that simply said Library.
Weapons out, they ran across the street to the Dutch Mill Bar and Restaurant. The signs were all fading and several hung loose from one end. There was a hotel next door and they slipped into the recessed doorway.
“I wasn’t looking to spend the night,” Chris said. “Can you tell me where Neiman Marcus is?”
“We’ll be lucky if we can find a store at all,” Mike said, shaking his mop of brown hair. “I don’t see any.”
“Mike, you’re always so negative. I’m sure there’s a Saks at the end of the block.”
“What I want is someplace with kitchen supplies.” Skillet was already heading onto the sidewalk and moving toward the next store in line.
It soon became apparent that this small town had very little of what they needed. There was a single, main street through town, with a few east-west roads containing only houses.
Chris walked out into the middle of the road. “Come on, Lori, let’s walk up to the end of town and see if we can find any stores.”
“Hey, where are you girls going?” Chang said.
“It’s okay, Chang,” Chris said, “the town’s been cleared. I think I can see a store up on the left.”
Skillet ran over to them. “I’m going with you. I need some new pots and pans.”
The three of them walked up the middle of the street. Smoke drifted over and around them from the small fires still burning in the buildings on the east side of the road. There were towers of some kind, maybe for water, that had paintings of Native American and pioneer families. They must have been beautiful before the war, Chris thought.
They spotted a Family Dollar store recessed behind the adjoining buildings with a parking lot in front. They hurried inside to see what kind of treasures it held. Although the store didn’t have a very good selection, it had a few clothes, kitchen utensils, and canned goods. They rummaged through the merchandise, and piled the things they wanted to keep by the front door. Skillet had grabbed three pans and a griddle and added them to the stack.
“I guess I’ll have to bring back a couple of the horses to pick this stuff up. I’ll go back to the motel and get Fred and Ethel. I’ll see you two later.”
Chris and Lori went up and down the aisles selecting items for the pile, and Lori found several outfits for each of the kids. They spent the next twenty minutes looking for clothes for themselves.
&nb
sp; Chris pulled a blouse off the rack, held it up in front of her, and said to Lori, “Ooh, I like the colors on this one, what do you think?” She did a pirouette… and was blown completely off her feet.
She slid across the floor and came up hard against a counter, wrenching her shoulder. Momentarily dazed, she shook her head to try and clear it. There was a crash and she covered her head as burning debris cascaded around and over her. Her heart pounded in her chest as she realized she was pinned under a beam.
Lori was further toward the rear of the store and dove to the carpet alongside a counter. Something had smashed into the roof of the store and, within a single minute, the burning object fell through the roof of the building bringing down part of the ceiling with it. The store was immediately filled with smoke as the burning debris began to burn brighter and hotter. She crawled around the end of the counter and found Chris crammed up against the other side.
“Chris, Chris, come on get up.” Chris’s arm was almost yanked out of the socket as Lori pulled her out from under the debris. “We need to get out of here… now!” Lori swatted burning embers from Chris’s back and hair. Her ankle was bound up in some timbers and Lori burned her hands jerking the boards off Chris’s leg.
The store was filled with smoke, and as Lori pulled Chris toward the back of the room, another loud crack signaled the impending collapse of the remainder of the roof.
Lori glanced up as she tugged at Chris afraid they wouldn’t get out in time. Thoughts of the kids and Mark flashed through her mind. “Hurry! The roof’s coming down.”
“Wha… What happened?”
“I’m not sure. An explosion I think. Something heavy landed on the roof. You need to get down and crawl, stay under the burning gases,”
They began to crawl quickly around the counter and toward a hallway leading to the back of the building. Lori noticed Chris was lagging behind. “Chris, please hurry,” she begged, “we need to get out.”
“I hurt my shoulder. I’m going as fast as I can.” She began to cough. Lori jumped to her feet in a crouch, and holding her breath ran back and bodily lifted Chris to her feet, dragging her down the hallway to the rear door. Thunderous crashes came from behind them as the entire ceiling of the building gave way. The heat was so intense Lori could barely breathe as she slammed into the back door. Reaching down, she turned the knob, as Chris slumped to the floor. Grabbing Chris under the arms she dragged her out into the sweet air behind the building.
The wind was blowing the smoke toward the south and east but both buildings on either side of the store were fully engulfed in flames. She had no choice but to drag Chris straight back away from the buildings, although she couldn’t see any way to get to the street. As they put some distance between them and the inferno, the heat lessened to a degree, and Lori gulped in deep breaths.
“Do you think you can get up? We need to get between those houses to the side street. This whole end of town is going up in flames.”
“Yeah,” Chris panted, holding her left shoulder with her right hand, “let’s go. I’m better now. I can breathe.” They made it out to the street but, with the buildings on both corners in flames, they realized they couldn’t get out to Main Street. They went west and then south, cutting through the grounds of Antonito High School. The wind fed the forty-foot flames and one building after another caught on fire as it moved south, cutting them off.
They were becoming exhausted when Lori said, “I think we’ve outdistanced it. “Let’s head back to Main Street. All the guys are gonna be looking to rescue us and I don’t want anybody getting hurt, when we’re okay.”
They started back toward the east, and just as they came opposite a building on the left, it burst into flames, fanned by the stiff wind. The heat assailed them and Lori grabbed Chris’s arm, pulling her toward the street. Chris cried out in pain.
Moving as fast as they could, with Lori helping to support her, they rounded the corner onto Main Street and found half a dozen men racing toward the north. Mark was in the lead and when he saw the women he immediately changed course and hurried to their assistance.
“Lori, thank God. Hurry! The flames are moving fast. The whole town’s going up.”
“Chris is hurt.”
Mark threw his arm around Lori as Matthew jumped off of Chief, and he and Chang hoisted Chris into the saddle. As well trained as Chief was, his eyes were rolling in fear, and he was skittering sideways away from the burning buildings. The heat was intensifying as fire moved toward them. The smoke was blowing directly down Main Street, swirling around them and cutting their visibility to almost zero. The smoke burned their lungs as they breathed. The horse screamed and trembled, but Matthew had hold of the reins as they all hurried toward the south where the smoke had thinned.
Mark turned around and looked back toward the fire. What had looked like a few, small, hot spots on the east side of Main Street had been fanned by the wind into a raging inferno. It jumped the Highway following the explosion of a propane tank. Mark could see a half of the tank lying in the middle of the road.
The smoke thinned as they ran south, and as they came abreast of the Cumbres and Toltec Railway Station they met Skillet riding in their direction.
“Guess I’m not going to be picking up those supplies we set aside,” he said ruefully.
“Supplies? Were lucky as hell we didn’t lose Lori and Chris.”
“Just kidding man.”
They all made it back to the Railroad Inn, where Aaron hurried over to help Chris down from the horse. Her big eyes, wide enough for the whites to show, were blinking in a face covered with soot. He hugged her tight and said, “Doesn’t look like you found that big tub full of hot water.”
“No, I guess you’re gonna have to wash every inch of my body yourself.” He laughed and hugged harder but stopped when he saw her wince in pain.
“Honey, what’s wrong?”
“I wrenched my shoulder, and I think I have some burns on my back. I’ve scorched part of my hair, and inhaled smoke and burning gases. But don’t worry, I’m just fine.” She passed out, her knees buckling. Aaron caught her, picked her up and carried her to their wagon.
“I don’t know about you guys,” Mark said, “I really don’t feel like spending the night here. No telling if the flames will make it down this far, but I think we should head out on Highway 17 for a few miles before we camp.”
They all agreed, and even though they had unharnessed the horses, they prepared to leave again. The animals, grazing in the weeds at the side of the parking lot were unhappy about being re-harnessed and the mustangs reared and whinnied. Finally calming them down they got the wagons moving, and as they were pulling away from the motel, Einstein looked around and said, “Hey everybody, where’s Jimbo?”
“I see his bike over by the motel,” Sheri said as she rode over and pounded on the door.
Jimbo came out, wearing a tee shirt, boxer shorts and his old, olive, drab cap. He squinted into the bright sunshine and scratched his whiskers.
“Hey, what’s going on?” he yelled, when he noticed they were leaving.
“Did I miss something?”
14
The Horde stayed in Kingman, Arizona for six days. They started in the downtown area, on the south side of town, staying in a Motel 6 on Beale Street. Using a manual pump, they drained the underground gas tanks in the Chevron station next door, topping off the tanks in all of the vehicles, and filling several five gallon gas cans they carried in one of the pickup trucks.
“We need to get out of this town ASAP,” Chase told Bing when they first arrived in town from Vegas. Memories of cruel children teasing him, and calling him Andy Devine, came unbidden to his mind. “I hate this place.”
“How come, Chase? It’s got a lot of railroad history. I like trains. And Andy Devine grew up here.”
Chase shot him such a look of hatred that Bing said, “Sure Chase,” and sped away under the freeway overpass, swinging into the parking lot of the Motel 6, the othe
rs all following behind.
Kingman turned out to be a gold mine for the gang, and Chase had to give in to let the Horde stay longer than he wanted. There were no residents living in this part of town and they found canned goods and bottled water in markets along Beale Street. It took two days to clean out the stores and fill the beds of the pickups. Sleeping in late, they mounted up and roared east on Beale until it swung around the curve and headed up to the newer section of town.
Andy Devine Boulevard. It mocked Chase as he flew north at over 100 miles per hour.
For some reason, his voice was even scratchier than usual.
Pulling into a motel parking lot just past the I-40, the cyclists climbed from their bikes and waited for Nutts to come out with keys. A restaurant stood in the corner of the lot. Most of the gang members pushed in, sitting at tables and booths, where they opened and consumed cans of Spam and Vienna Sausage. They drank bottles of warm soda.
Rod wiped grease off his beard and his leather vest with his bare arm.
“What’s that big building over there? Looks like a hospital.” Rod was pointing out the window. “Maybe there’s some drugs. Maybe some Dilaudid or Oxy. Let’s check it out.”
“If you find anything, you better bring it back to Chase,” Bing said. “If you don’t, he’s liable to blow your fucking brains out.”
“Why doesn’t he go with us, then?” Nutts asked.
“He’s a loner, and for some reason he’s in a worse mood than usual. You should be glad he’s not here.”
Speeding down Stockton Hill, they arrived at Kingman Regional Hospital in ten minutes. They searched through the hospital but found very little of value until they reached the pharmacy. It was locked up tight, but using their weapons, they blasted through the door and window and poured into the interior.