Alex opened her mouth to make a case for taking it with them but stopped and really thought about it. If they ran into any major trouble on the trip ahead that caused them to lose the vehicles, they would have to abandon the dog somewhere out there far from its home. There would be no way to care for it while they were riding bikes. The best course would be to leave plenty of dog food and water out for the poor thing and hope it found a new home on its own. She sighed sadly and nodded her agreement.
“I know. It’s just so sad. With all the death and destruction of the last few days, that one dog is so heartbreaking is silly. I can’t help feeling so sad for it.”
Cooper leaned toward her. “It’s not silly, Alex. Being able to be sad for one dog after all the death you’ve seen is a good thing. I think by the time we get home, we will all be hardened to a lot of things. So be sad when you can and take joy and happiness where you find them. Only when you stop feeling should you be worried.” He brightened his expression. “And right now what I’m feeling is……hungry!” he joked, lightening the mood.
Josh and Dara came out of the house and took seats at the table. Dara’s eyes were red and puffy but she seemed composed. Everyone took a ham pancake and apple and started eating.
Josh finished his pancake quickly and said, “This is pretty good, Alex, but now that we have a working stove and oven we can have better meals. The fridge works too so we can keep things longer. What do you guys think about taking a few laying hens with us for eggs? There are some fold-up cages that would fit in the back of the truck. And if we have to, we can get rid of them for roasted chicken dinner. I also found a spring room under the barn. It has cheese and butter as well as some meat so even though the freezer part of the fridge is small, we can still take some of it.”
Quinn was nodding, “That’s a good idea, Josh. A few hens and we can have fresh eggs that we can stock up on in the fridge. They would also be good for barter. So, I think we should stay here for the rest of the day and night and head out first thing in the morning. We need to stock up the camper and truck and hopefully find a way to fill up the water tanks on the camper. Alex found a gun safe in the basement, so we need to find keys for it and see what’s in it. I also think we should go over these roadmaps we found and see if we can find a way to get around Las Vegas without getting too close to it. It’s going to be nasty around that city. It would be good if we could map out a few different routes around all the major cities we need to get past. Traveling on back roads and secondary highways might be our best bet. The interstate is going to be packed with cars and people.” He looked around at everyone. “Okay, let’s get packed up and sorted out. I say we have a BBQ for supper and get a good night’s rest and then head for home.”
Chapter Ten
Three days later, Alex was looking out at yet more barren scrub-covered desert. They had taken a secondary highway at Baker that went north into Death Valley. The good news was that it would take them far from Las Vegas and there were no real towns on the highway. The bad news was, there was nothing else either. Desert and rock, as far as the eye could see. There were hardly any cars on the road which meant that they could make good time, keeping at a steady forty miles an hour in case they came upon anything blocking the road. They were keeping the speed down, not wanting to risk losing one of the priceless vehicles to an accident. They had made around three hundred miles the day before and it had been uneventful except for one brief encounter.
They had gone north, skirting the Nellis Air Force Range Complex, which was nothing more than more scrub-covered desert and rock, when they had seen a dust cloud moving towards them out of the desert. It could only be another vehicle raising a line of dust like that, so they pulled over and got into defensive positions.
They had talked about different scenarios and how they would handle them, so they all knew what to do. They all had guns, thanks to Mr. Peterson’s gun safe, but they kept them tucked away. Only Quinn and Cooper had shotguns on display and those were held pointed up. The idea was to warn off anyone looking for a fight, not start one.
Quinn and Cooper were standing with the truck bed between them and the approaching vehicle, ready to duck down for cover if any shooting started. Alex, Dara, and Josh were in the scrub bushes further back on their side of the road. They didn’t want to be trapped in the camper if bullets started flying.
As the dust cloud got closer, they were able to make out an older model army looking jeep. It had two men with rifles in the front seat. It came to a stop by swerving sideways and both men jumped out on the far side, using it as cover.
“This is a United States Air Force patrol. Step into the road and identify yourselves!”
Quinn and Cooper whispered to each other and then Quinn shouted back, “How do we know you guys are really soldiers or are just trying to get the jump on us?”
“Sir, the only way I can confirm that is to show you my ID. If you would be willing to come forward unarmed, I would meet you halfway,” the man yelled back.
After more whispered discussion between the boys, Quinn held his shotgun high in the air and set it down in the truck bed. Walking around the side of the truck, he kept his hands in the air and made his way to the side of the road closest to the jeep. He stopped halfway between the two vehicles and made sure he wasn’t blocking Coopers’ line of sight. The man who had been doing the yelling came around the jeep and walked towards Quinn. He was dressed in a camouflage outfit and had a gun in a holster at his side but had left his rifle in the jeep.
When he was a few feet from Quinn, his face showed surprise. “You’re just a kid!”
Quinn was used to that response by now and shrugged it off. “Are you guys really from the Army?” he asked.
“Air Force, son, there’s a difference. What are you doing out here? And where did you get two working vehicles? Are your parents with you?” the soldier questioned.
“Sir, do you have any identification? We’re trying to be careful with who we give answers to,” Quinn evaded.
“What? Oh, sure. Hold on.”
The soldier pulled out a billfold and handed Quinn a card with his picture and information on it. Major Tom Lewis was the name on the ID card. Quinn handed it back and asked, “Isn’t a Major a little high up to be out on patrol, sir?”
The Major smiled. “I’m not really on patrol, son. I just wanted to get away from the airport and see what there is to see. I didn’t really expect to run into anyone out here. Now, can I ask again, who are you, what are you doing out here and are your parents over behind those trucks?”
“My name is Quinn and I’m with some friends. We were on a class trip when everything stopped working. We are trying to get home and thought it would be easier if we stayed off the main highways. We helped an elderly man bury his wife and he gave us his truck and camper to help us get home.” He quickly summarized. “Do you know what happened, sir? Can you give me any information? We are headed north to Canada, and anything you could tell us would be appreciated.”
The soldier studied Quinn and seemed to reach a decision. “Do you know what an EMP is?” At his nod, the soldier continued. “It was set off somewhere above Kansas and it basically shut everything electrical down all over most of the continent. Northern Mexico and Southern Canada will have been affected. Europe was hit as well. I’m sure you’ve figured out that older mechanical things will still work but anything modern has been fried. Nothing touched down in North America but I can’t say the same for the Mid-East. Not much left there that’s not glowing. We’ve got all our boys headed home but it’ll take a while to get them back. We can expect aid from some countries but a lot are out of business. Until then, things are going to be real ugly in this country. Why are you going to Canada?”
It took a minute for Quinn to process all that the soldier had said and then realize he had asked a question. “That’s where we’re from. We live in central Alberta,” was his distracted answer.
“Central Alberta? That would be a good area
to ride this out. Lots of farmland, cattle and not a lot of cities. Well, you kids are lucky to have working trucks. Stay on the back roads as much as possible and watch out because those trucks will make you a big tempting target. I won’t hold you up. Get going and good luck, Quinn. I hope you make it home,” Major Lewis said as he turned and walked back to his jeep.
Quinn slowly walked back to the trucks thinking of nuclear war and all it might mean in the future.
After he had shared the news with the rest of the group, they got back on the road and traveled for a few more hours before stopping and setting up camp for the night. Sleeping in the camper was much more comfortable than sleeping on the ground and making meals on the stove was much faster and easier. Alex and Dara had stocked every spare inch of the camper with food supplies from Mr. Peterson’s basement and kitchen. They had plenty of baking supplies, so she had made use of the camper’s small oven and baked buns so they would have bread.
Staring out the window, Alex was happy they were almost into Utah. She hoped the landscape would change. She was so bored and it made her think of all the things that used to fill a long road trip that wouldn’t work now. Portable DVD players to watch movies on, iPods for music, even a handheld gaming system to play video games on were all obsolete now. She wished she had a deck of cards. At least she could play solitaire on the camper’s small dining room table.
Alex looked towards the front of the camper where Josh was driving and Dara was sitting in the passenger seat. Dara’s hair looked great. Before leaving Mr. Peterson’s house, they had played beauty shop and colored out all the blue streaks. The dark chestnut color really made her grey eyes stand out. Having plenty of water from the pump on the well, they had all gotten to clean up and wash out their clothes properly. The tanks on the camper were filled with water but they were being very careful with how much they used, so for now, it was back to baby wipes and washcloth baths. With a sigh, Alex turned back around in her seat and looked out the side window. I’m soooo bored!she thought to herself and then jumped in shock as a gunshot went off and the camper jerked towards the middle of the road.
“Hold on and get your guns ready!” Josh yelled at them as he brought the camper back into the right lane.
Alex was trying to see what was going on out the window when a pair of motorcycles came up beside them. Another two were on either side of the old truck that Quinn and Cooper were in ahead of them. All of the motorcycle riders were rough looking men in dirty jeans and leather jackets. They also all had sawed-off shotguns and while one of the riders waved Josh over to stop, the other one pointed the gun at the front tire. Alex looked ahead and saw that Quinn and Cooper were being threatened the same way.
“What do we do, Josh? Should I open the window and shoot at them?” Alex yelled.
“Damn it, no! It’s too late; they got us covered from behind as well. Quinn’s pulling over. Damn it! Son of a…Dara, get in the back! Hide the guns and find a knife and put it in your boot. Alex, you too. Hurry, I have to pull over,” Josh yelled frantically.
Dara scrambled into the back with Alex and they both started to reach for the kitchen cutlery drawer at the same time, wrenching it all the way out and spilling utensils all over the floor. Dara’s hiking boots were higher than Alex’s so she grabbed a paring knife out of the mess and slid it down the side of her boot. Alex was frantically searching for the red handled Swiss army knife she knew was in the drawer before she finally found it under the table. She stuck it down the inside of her boot and quickly started to scoop up the utensils back into the drawer and slammed it back into the cupboard just as Josh came to an abrupt stop, sending her back down to the floor. Beside her head was a small door that gave access to the stove and oven mechanics and Alex quickly stuffed her gun in it as far back as possible. She scrambled back onto her feet and rushed to the front to see what was happening, almost crashing into Dara, who was frozen stiff behind Josh in the driver’s seat.
“What’s going on?” she asked with a note of hysteria in her voice.
“Don’t move, Alex. They have a gun pointed at Josh’s head,” Dara whispered.
Alex looked ahead and saw both Quinn and Cooper kneeling on the road behind the truck with two of the bikers covering them with shotguns. Just as she was about to say something, there was a banging on the side door of the camper that made her jump. Dara turned to her slowly and with a blank face and flat tone said, “Open the door, Alex. We have no choice.”
Alex’s heart was pounding with the need to do something. Fight or flight. It took her a moment to realize that Dara was right. With all the boys covered, there was nothing to do but follow along and see what happened. She stepped back toward the side door and reached out to open the door. As soon as the latch clicked open, the door was ripped open and a stubby shotgun barrel was pointed up at her. The man holding it was rough looking with greasy hair and had tattoos covering both of his arms, all the way up the sides of his neck. He looked Alex up and down and with a sleazy sneer and motioned her out with the barrel of his gun.
“Hello, princess. Come on out of there and join our little party.” He looked past Alex and saw Dara. “You too, sweet cheeks. Nothing funny or your prom dates will be minus their heads,” he told them with a hard look as he backed up to let them out.
Alex felt Dara put a hand on her shoulder and squeeze it before giving a small push to get her moving. As soon as they stepped down, another ugly man grabbed them by the arms and started to pull them towards the front of the camper. He was squeezing Alex’s upper arm so hard she expected to have fingerprint bruises. As they came closer to the kneeling boys, he let go and gave them a big push, sending both the girls staggering towards Quinn and Cooper. Both the boys had blank faces but when Alex stumbled into Cooper, he reached out to steady her and received a shotgun stock to his ribs.
“Keep your hands up, Romeo!” barked the biker who was watching him. “You don’t have to worry about your girlfriend. We’ll take real good care of her,” he sneered. “On the ground, girlies!” He waved them down.
Alex and Dara lowered themselves to their knees beside the two boys and put their hands up. Josh was pulled out of the camper and shoved their way as well. The man behind him was prodding him along with the barrel of the shotgun. As he was pushed into a stumble again, Josh growled and made to turn around and fight but before he could, one of the men grabbed him and shoved him down beside Dara.
“Don’t get brave, boy,” warned one of the bikers.
The kids were all lined up on their knees between the two vehicles with two of the armed men watching them and the other four searching through the camper and truck. They were all silent and Alex took a quick look at Quinn but he stared straight ahead with a grim face. The four men came together in front of the camper and had a conference. Alex couldn’t hear what they were saying but they kept looking over at the line of kids and with a big laugh, they started their way.
The biggest biker of the bunch came forward and stood in front of them. He walked back and forth looking the kids over one by one. He was well over six feet tall with muscular arms and a barrel chest. His shaved head gleamed in the desert sun and when he walked past, Alex saw that he had a skull tattoo covering the back of his head. He finally stopped his inspection and gave them an amused look.
“Well, if it isn’t the cast of High School fucking Musical. So nice of you all to bring these goodies into my territory.” His wave took in the two vehicles full of supplies. “So what do you think I should do with you boys? The girls will be coming with us for a little recreation time but I don’t really see a need for you three,” he paused menacingly. “Then again, it does get boring now so we could use you boys for a little game I came up with to entertain the troops. Yup; I think we can have some fun with these three. Where were you kids headed to?” he asked.
When no one answered him, his face darkened and he lifted a huge boot and planted it in Josh’s stomach. Josh crumpled to the road with a groan and he lay in a feta
l position, trying to get a breath. Dara made a small gasp when he had kicked Josh and that made him turn his attention towards her.
“Let’s try that again. You look like you want to spare your boyfriend some hurt, so why don’t you answer my question.”
He reached down and seemed to tenderly tuck a lock of Dara’s hair behind her ear. With a soft smile on his face, he completed the move by grabbing a bunch of her hair and wrenching her head back, making her face up toward him. Tears sprang to her eyes and started flowing down her face.
With a shaking voice, she told him. “North. We were headed north into Utah!”
At her answer, he shoved her backward making her fall on her butt.
“That wasn’t so hard now, was it?” He beamed a smile at her. He looked to the rest of the kids and told them, “Listen up! My name is Skull and I run this outfit. When I ask a question, I get an answer! You lot are in for a world of hurt but it’s up to you just how bad it gets.” Skull turned to his men and ordered, “Search them and get them loaded up into that camper. Let’s get back to the base. I need a beer!”
With that, he turned and walked over to a huge motorcycle and lit up a cigarette.
His men pulled each of the kids to their feet and patted them down. The girls were groped and Alex fought hard not to make a sound and give them the satisfaction they wanted. The men didn’t find the knives that the girls had in their boots and Alex took a bit of hope away that they might get a chance to use them in the future. After they had been searched, all of their hands were zip-tied behind their backs and they were roughly shoved and pushed back over and into the camper.
The bikers made them all sit on the floor and it was extremely uncomfortable with their hands tied. The camper was driven by one of the men and another was sitting at the dinette keeping his gun trained on them.
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