Mechanical Issues

[Nomad_Medic]

This is a story I started a while ago as my reintroduction into writing and was posting on another board until they pulled down the fiction section. Sorry, no Zed's but it is a most a Collapse story so...

A bit of a disclaimer is in order here: THIS IS FICTION! It's posted on the internet. As such, don't take the techniques or skills in this story as instructions. While I'll do my very best to keep things realistic, if you don't know what you're doing, some of these things can hurt you bad. That also means that I am not writing about anyone specifically, all the characters are made up and not meant to represent real folks. While the places are pretty much actual places, I've made up a lot of the details (though Google Earth will give you a lot of information on these spots).

I want to throw out a couple more points then I'll get to it. I do this as a fun exercise and write when I get the chance. Sometimes that is frequently, others not so much. I have every intention of finishing this someday (I really never expected it to go this long). Finally, I try to balance plot and detail. I do a bit of the 'gear porn' thing but try not to get too carried away. I appreciate feedback but reserve the right to ignore it.

Last point, I am not sure how big of blocks I can post here compared to the forum |I was writing to originally. Sorry if the breaks seem odd because of it.

And with that, to the story.

NM

[Nomad_Medic]

“Wow, I didn’t expect to hear from you yet. What’s up? I know you can’t be in Atlanta,” greeted Dan as his wife answered the phone.

“Nope, believe it or not, I’m in Denver. We left Portland fine but they had ‘mechanical issues’ and we diverted here. For the record, I could go the rest of my life without having ‘mechanical issues’ EVER again,” he explained. “They probably shouldn’t have told us that in the air; too many people got themselves all worked up. I even got to play paramedic when one of the business-suit-too-many-burger types stared having chest pains.”

“Oh yeah? How’d that go?” she said while an odd humming noise buzzed through the phone.

“Fine, believe it or not they had a half way decent kit on the plane. We landed pretty much without issue but it’s looking like we’re stuck here until tomorrow. They have me booked out on a 1545 flight. I guess I’m going to be late meeting my boat,” Dan said as he made his way through the crowded terminal towards the exit.

“Okay, well nothing you can do about that. Are you going to call your parents? I am sure they’d love to hear you’re in town,” she reminded him.

“Yeah, I was thinking about it. What are you up to?”

“Last week was payday so that means the grocery store, Costco, then the feed store.”

Dan knew how Lynne shopped. By buying in bulk and shopping around, she was able to make there budget stretch enough to keep them afloat. That went for the animal feed as well as the people food. Even though their farm didn’t have anything bigger than three Australian Sheppards, the 40 chickens, 30 rabbits, and 6 turkeys somehow managed to eat over 500 pounds of food a month.

“That should keep us all fed for the next few weeks. Speaking of groceries, I wanted to get through Fred’s before they got busy. How about you call me tonight?” she continued.

“Sounds good, have fun. I love you,” he told her and after the expected reply hung up. The phone made a strange crackling sound as the connection broke.

As Dan made his way through the Denver International Airport, he wondered at the sanity of working a job that kept him away from home so much. The previous year he had been out of the country over 200 days. He often found himself moving through airports just like this one. He never ceased to be amazed at the way some people traveled. Every extreme was in evidence. There was the ultra-fashionable Barbie Doll trying to navigate an escalator in stiletto heels; and there the dreadlocked trekker carrying his well worn backpack. He wondered if he was people-watched in his ‘everyman’ dress. Because he traveled as much and through the places he did, Dan was very experienced in going unnoticed.
When he looked up, Dan saw that he had arrived at the shuttle loading area for the hotel that the airline had booked Dan and the other passengers from his flight into. Looking around at the crowds pressing themselves onto the hotel shuttles, there was more than one flight making an unexpected layover.

‘That’s a bit odd,’ he thought. There was nothing but blue skies on this crisp April day. ‘Usually backups like this are weather related.’

Riding to the hotel Dan mused over his history in Colorado. He had graduated high school from one of the western suburbs of Denver several years prior. Shortly after that he joined the Army where he was assigned as a Medic to a large hospital. It was there that he met Lynne. When he brought her back to Colorado to meet his folks, they both fell in love with the small community nestled into the mountains that Dan’s parents had moved to. Of course Dan and Lynne were married and it was that same mountain community they moved to after leaving the service. While they had enjoyed their time living there, several years ago life’s path had taken them out of Colorado. They tried to make it back every few years but it had been a while since he had been in town.

He was literally shaken from his reverie as the bus made a stuttering halt in front of the Embassy Suites at DIA. Dan thought to himself, ‘Listening to the people grumble, you’d think we hit a tree instead of a little motor hesitation as we pulled in.’

After getting checked in on the first floor, Dan slipped into his standard hotel routine. Taking the scenic route to his room, he found two exits in addition to the one through the main lobby. He made note of the AED in the corridor and the location of the nearest fire alarm pull station. Upon entering his room he locked the deadbolt and was happy to note the mechanical lock. He slipped his shoes off and setup his laptop to check in with his half dozen or so internet information sources. Finding the internet service was down, he decided to call his father.

“Hey, what are you doing?” Dan said when his dad picked up.

“Not a whole lot. I’m just headed back from the Springs. Where’re you at?” he replied.

“I’m supposed to be joining a vessel off the coast of India, but since the airlines decided to spend their bailout money on….okay, who knows what, but it wasn’t maintenance, I’m in the Embassy Suites out by the airport. It looks like I’ll be in town until tomorrow afternoon,” Dan said.

“Yeah? I’ve got to meet a client in Pueblo tomorrow….hang on a second. The idiots sure are out thick today. Last I checked the shoulder on the interstate wasn’t a parking space but maybe that changed. Anyway, how ‘bout I bring you up to the house for a good dinner and I can drop you off at the airport on my way out of town?” he suggested.

“You’re breaking up, but that sounds great. I’m in 112. I’ll see you when you get here,” Dan practically yelled into the phone. An hour later, Dan’s father knocked at his door.

In the years since the two men had seen each other, both had changed. Both were a little grayer. Ned’s 58 years meant he was more silver than not, while Dan’s 35 showed more brown than grey. Both wore neatly trimmed goatees but that was as far as the similarities went. Ned, actually Dan’s step-father though no one in the family thought of him that way, was 6’2” and close to 280 pounds. His years as a heavy equipment operator, mechanic, welder, and fabricator had given him a layer of muscle that was only obvious when you looked at his muscled arms. Even the last three years as the regional representative for an equipment manufacturer hadn’t softened his ropey forearms. Dan was 5’ 6” and 180 pounds. He knew he was a touch overweight but the time on his hobby farm and regular trips to the shipboard gym kept him healthy.

Dan grabbed his only bag and checked out of the hotel. When he followed Ned to the parking lot, he let out a low whistle as Ned pointed out their ride.

While he had heard about the Jeep, he had never seen it. The dark green ‘86 Wrangler had a 4 inch suspension lift and 35x12.5 tires on custom offset 16 inch wheels. The drive train had been rebuilt with Detroit lockers in both the front and rear, custom heavy duty drive shafts mated to a N205 transfer case. It had five point harnesses, a full roll cage, as well as custom spare tire carrier with a jerry can rack. The purpose built rear bumper acted as a reservoir for the on-board air compressor and contained a receiver hitch. The top rack sported a second spare, an assortment of pioneer tools, and a highlift jack. Up front, the Mile Marker H1200 hydraulic winch was integrated into a Brawler BFH with a trail stinger. The whole Jeep looked like an add for Poison Spyder Customs and Dan quickly razed Ned about it.

“You know what, I know the guys there, they do good work, AND they cut me a deal,” he said, “Plus, by letting them play with it, I could play with some of the projects in the shop.”

“Hard to argue with tha..heeeey, that’s nice,” Dan said as the dual exhaust growled when the 300 Chevy small block came to life.

The two men chatted during the ride out of town. Before long, the conversation took a familiar turn.

“When are you going to find a real job? One where you’re home? Look at you, last month you were dodging pirates in the Gulf of Aden, this month you’re off to India. After all those year on ambulances and flying medivacs, you should be able to get a better job than riding boats. That or you need to bite the bullet and get that nursing license,” Ned said.

Dan sighed. “I have a real job. I get paid better than 90% of the paramedics out there, I am off five weeks at a time, and since I’m the only medical option for these guys, I get to provide treatment like I was running a clinic downtown. Besides, life on these exploration boats is pretty soft. If I come back to land, especially here in the land-o-the-lawyer, I’d get to put bandaids on booboos and administer high flow diesel fumes. No thanks. Too many years carrying fat guys down stairs or getting shot at to give up the autonomy I have.”

“And what about school?” Ned went on, “You already know the stuff. You can do the job. Why not get the lambskin to prove it?”

“That might still come. Right now if I got my Associates in Nursing, I’d be out $30K in tuition, not work for two years, AND take a pay cut when I was done. Maybe someday that will be desirable, not yet.”

They both lapsed into silence.

As Dan watched the suburbs and then the hills go by, he couldn’t help but notice how much things had grown. Even though he had been on Colorado Highway 285 since it was widened, it still amazed him that the windy mountain road he remembered had become a four lane monstrosity.

‘I bet this really is the Indy 285 now,’ He thought to himself.

As they approached Conifer, Ned asked “Whatcha drinking these days?” the previous discussion moved to the back burner for the time being.

“Normally Guinness but I’d be happy with just about any beer you can’t read a newspaper through.”

“We don’t have anything that dark and I told your mom I’d grab her a couple things. Lets hit the store,” Ned continued as they pulled into the superstore.

The superstore was another newcomer in the years since Dan had moved away. The sprawling complex looked out of place with towering pines coming right down to the borders of the parking lot. A parking lot that still had the remnants of the winters snow piles melting along its edges.

The lot was full as many of the commuters had similar thoughts as Ned. Dan noticed traffic was making its way around a tow truck hooking up to a newer Lexus. A couple rows away, a second tow truck was providing a jump start to a shiny new Land Rover with temporary tags in the rear window.

“Looks like all the tow trucks in town could be in this lot,” He thought aloud.

“Boy, things have grown around here. We’re up to four tow trucks and when the weather comes up, they are hoping. These yuppies don’t know how to do anything but put gas in and some days I wonder how they do that. Sure wish they’d learn to drive,” Ned chuckled.

It was the same old complaint. The mountains around Denver seem to contain two types of people. One was the do-it-yourself, hard working Blue Collar type that scrimped and saved to get the fabled house in the country. The other was the way-more-money-than-sense types that commuted to high tech White Collar jobs in Denver, moved to the mountains in the summer and then back out the following spring. It had always made Dan wonder that he had fallen into the rental he had while there.

“I ever tell you about the neighborhood party someone threw while we were living here? The people walking in before us brought the host a bottle of wine from ‘our trip to Italy this year’, the hostess was bragging about how ‘Martha Stewart’ she felt for dipping strawberries in melted chocolate, and I think Lynne and I were the only people there that weren’t earning six digits. Talk about sticking out like a diamond in a goat’s butt.”

“Nope, I don’t think you did,” said Ned as he slid the Jeep into a parking slot near the back of the lot.

As they walked into the store, Dan broke off into the clothing section. He picked up a couple small packages and met up with Ned at the checkout.

“All set?” Dan asked, wondering at the perplexed look of the pubescent checker in front of Ned.

As they watched, the checker’s automated register flashed to a blue screen then started running through what appeared to be a startup program.

“Um, sorry but this thing just like crashed. It’s gonna be a few minutes before I can, um, get going again,” mumbled the teen.

The Floor Manager materialized and ushered the men to another checker. From the flickering screens and migration of people between lanes, computer issues seemed to be the order of the day.

“What? I know that look. This isn’t anything but a little computer hiccup,” Ned laughed, “Though I will say it’s bigger than that Y2K thing you got so worked up about.”

“Yeah, I know nothing happened but you ate all that stuff I talked you into didn’t you?” replied Dan.

“True, well except for all those bullets. As a matter of fact, I have come across a couple deals I drug home that I’d like you to take a look at. And while you’re in the safe fondling, maybe I can talk you into cleaning rifles for me. It probably hasn’t been done since you were here last.”

“If we have time in the morning, no problem,” Dan replied.

‘How can a man take such meticulous care of cars, trucks and motorcycles and not do anything with the weapons in the safe?’ he thought to himself.

After paying for their groceries, the two men returned to the Jeep. The tow truck with the Lexus was gone and the Land Rover was now being hooked up to the second.

It was a quick 25 minute drive up the narrow mountain road to Ned and Ann’s home. They had purchase the house as a fixer upper in the mid-90’s after Dan’s younger brother Aaron had graduated from high school. Before they could move in, the damage wrought by the previous owner’s pet pig had to be repaired. This included replacing carpets in all four bedrooms as well as the family and dining rooms. The door frame between the house and the attached garage had apparently been a favorite scratching post and also was rebuilt. Over the next several years, Ann had remodeled the kitchen, all three bathrooms, and the master bedroom. Her tenacity and stubbornness had carried her through each project, only calling in outside help where building codes required it.

Ned had had his own problems with the county building department. When they turned down his building permit for the initial shop, he was livid. After a bit of reflection, he conceded that not allowing out buildings to be larger than the home had some merit. In the end, it was built to be equivalent to an eight car garage.

Pulling into the driveway, Dan looked over his parent’s 2 acre lot. The house sat in the middle of the property opening onto the paved road. Small to medium fir trees lined the perimeter as did a five foot woven-wire fence, a legacy of the previous owner’s horses. On the side opposite the road, he knew there was a large deck that served as a cover for several cords of firewood (despite the fact that in wildfire country this was a very bad practice), a large covered barbeque area next to the hot tub that was accessed through the basement, and an open area where Ann had tried unsuccessfully to grow vegetables in raised beds. The elk and deer had kept her green thumb in check though the hanging baskets and flowerboxes showed it was still there. To the left of the house was the scaled down version of the shop. Dan had often wondered what Ned would have built without county interference. Behind the shop, and well hidden from the road, was the ever-present material and scrap pile. Located under covers near the shop were several ongoing project vehicles, a plow truck, an enclosed car trailer, and Ned’s work truck which had a front hub removed.

“I was wondering why you were driving the Jeep instead of the company rig. What’s up?”

“Oh, Napa sold me the wrong wheel bearing and the new one won’t be in until tomorrow. I’ve got the drag car torn down in the shop and I was putting a cam in that old pickup I bought off your uncle so I just did it out here. I’ll have it back together in an hour once I’ve got the parts,” Ned said as he walked into the house.

The men were greeted by a wave of scents that had them both thinking of food. Ann met them as they carried their few bags into the kitchen.

“So kid, it takes a broken plane to get you here does it?” she teased with a huge smile as she wrapped her son in a hug.

“You know we’ve been…” Dan trailed off as he lifted the lid from the pot bubbling merrily away on the stove.

“Just because I got old, don’t think I won’t whack you,” Ann said with a wooden spoon poised to strike. “Get your stuff up to that room you stayed in last time you were here with the kids and I’ll get you a drink.”

Dan settled his things into the bedroom he would spend the night in. As he emptied the shopping bags of new socks and underwear, the lights flickered. Evening seemed to have crept up on him as he made his way to his parents home and he hadn’t even realized he had turn the light on. Glancing out the window, the setting sun caught his eye. On second glance, those lights weren’t the sunset.

“Hey, do you guys see that?” Dan called out as he came down the stairs, pointing to the glass doorway to the deck.

All eyes followed his gesture. The evening sky was lit with ghostly traces of green and red. In the failing light, the tendrils writhed and flowed like a liquid blanket capping the world. As the sun continued it’s decent behind the mountains to the West, the streaks in the sky became more pronounced.

“Those are the Northern Lights, aren’t they?” Ned asked, knowing both Ann and Dan had lived in Alaska for years before he came into their lives 25 years before.

“Yeah but I’ve never seen them in the day. Look at how bright they are! And so active....” Ann replied with awe in her voice.

The three stood transfixed by the liquid waves of light for several minutes. The ebb and flow of the Auroras was hypnotic. They stood and watched in silence as the sun’s light completely faded and was replaced by the surreal scene before them.

Ann woke them from the trance when she opened a liquor cabinet that would put many a bar to shame. She poured an Irish whiskey for each of the men and reaching into a cabinet under the bar, poured herself a glass of red wine. Thus awakened and fortified, they moved to the deck.

Shortly afterwards, Ann brought dinner outside. The homemade meal of a rich beef stew, wild rice, and a garden salad, was eaten in near silence as all three marveled at the lights dancing across the sky. Dan retrieved lightweight jackets for everyone from their accustomed place in a hall closet to fight the growing chill.

They sat on the deck and marveled at the show until late. Knowing that they wanted to enjoy their morning together, they agreed to be up for a big breakfast by 0700. That would give them a few hours before they needed to head to the airport.

‘Good nights’ were made and with a final look at the still-active lights, all three retired for the night.

[Nomad_Medic]

Dan opened his eyes as the morning sun diffused through the room. Two thoughts immediately filled his mind. A) He had overslept, and B) It was cold outside the covers.

While there was no helping the latter, the only thing to do for the former was to get moving. He glanced at the alarm clock and noticed a distinct lack of useful information. Namely, the time.

‘Guess I know why I overslept,’ he thought to himself. ‘I’d bet the powers out; that’s why its so flipp’n cold in here too.’

Picking up his watch didn’t help the situation. The blank face staring back at him started a bad feeling in the pit of his stomach. He slid into the change of clothes he always traveled with and made his way downstairs to the kitchen.

Ann and Ned were there already, sipping coffee.

“Looks like some drunk clipped a powerpole or a tree came down on a line. There’s hot water in the teapot on top of the fireplace and the instant coffee’s here,” Ann said as she passed Dan a mug, “Would you like some milk to go with it?”

“Um, yeah.” Dan said absently. As he filled his glass he continued, “Anything else funky? Like not working? My watch conked out, what about yours? Or anything electronic?”

“Mine’s fi..well, I guess not. It must have stopped some time last night. At 0322 to be exact I’d say,” Ned replied.

That feeling of Dan’s wasn’t getting any better. In fact, it was starting to become a lead weight in his gut.

“Can I try something? Mom, can I start your car?” Dan asked as he took the keys off the hook near the door.

Ann nodded as she exchanged glances with Ned who simply shrugged.

Trying to start the ’04 Suburban turned the lead ball into a cannonball. Not only did the truck not start, the dome light didn’t even turn on. Same for the radio, the power locks, and the horn. Nothing worked. Ned scowled from the doorway.

“I have a bad feeling about this,” said Dan and he ushered Ned back into the kitchen with Ann.

“You remember the light show last night? The Northern Lights are caused by energy coming off the sun as it collides with the Earth’s atmosphere. That energy comes out during these explosions on the sun called…. something mass ejections. You’ve hear of them, most people call the sunspots. THEY say the energy from a big sunspot could cause all kinds of badness, like worldwide EMP.”

“EMP? Isn’t that a nuclear war thing?” Ned asked.

“Well sort of,” Dan continued. “It can be caused by a nuclear blast but I guess there are other things that cause it. The thing about EMP is it cooks electronics. I know you think I’m all tinfoil hatish but I am really thinking this might be happening.”

Ann scoffed, “You mean like Y2K?”

“You guys are never gonna let that one go are you? Think about it though. My plane, the lousy cell phones, and now this,” Dan replied.

Ned leaned back in his chair, “If this all started yesterday, why were we able to drive home? Why didn’t the lights go out then?”

“I’m just guessing here,” Dan began, “but I don’t think these things happen like…like a bomb. Maybe it was cumulative or waves? Wait, that makes more sense. What if we were getting hit by small stuff up until last night? Then at 0322 we got smacked by the Big Kahuna and that is what did the real damage?”

“Okay, let’s just say that’s the case, what does it mean?” Ned replied.

“It could mean a lot of things. I guess it depends on how bad this is. On the fuzzy bunny side, it’s an inconvenience, insurance covers things and life moves on. But with what we are seeing, I really doubt that’s it. I think this is bad. Really bad. Did you hear anything about this on the TV in the last few days? The radio? No, me neither and I watch for things like this. Agencies like NASA are monitoring for this sort of thing. We heard nothing from anyone that should have known. One of the preparedness boards I follow pretty close has people all over the country and they have been writing some odd things recently. Several of them have commented how their congressional representatives have been canceling things all week and falling off the face of the Earth. And the Feds, didn’t the President call some big closed door thing supposedly at Camp David earlier this week?” Dan went on, getting more animate.

“Are you saying the government knew something was up and DIDN’T say anything? What would be the point in that?” Ann asked.

“What would they say? ‘Brace for an energy wave from the sun that is gonna set the world back 300 years.’ Think of the panic and destruction. Most people only have a couple days worth of food in the house. Grocery stores rely on a steady flow of trucks to keep the shelves full. People riot when their team wins the Superbowl, what would they do if Big Government told them Twinkies were gone forever?

I think this is it. That colossal reset button, TEOTWAWKI, the feces hitting the rotary oscillator, IT. I think there’s a good chance we are on our own here with what we have or can make.”

With that Dan dropped into a chair, “Lynne and the kids…. I’m gonna have to get back to Portland. She’ll be okay for a while, the house is stocked pretty well and she knows what to do. She’s strong, she’ll be okay. She’ll be okay.” He repeated to himself.

A loud pounding on the front door snapped everyone’s attention to the immediate situation. A woman’s screams were just barely audible over the sound of fists drumming against the thick wood.

“Holy crap, Mutant/Zombie/Bikers already?” Dan said as he looked for a weapon.

Seeing that Ann was going to the door, he grabbed a carving knife from the block on the kitchen counter. Ned gave Dan a puzzled look and moved to the door.

Ned swung the door inward and a frantic young woman tumbled in. Dan’s practiced eye quickly took in the blood on her clothes. He looked her over for obvious injuries and saw none. Her hands were empty and he saw no one when he quickly scanned the front of the house. He closed the door behind her.

“Janice, what happen? Are you hurt? Where’s Hannah?” the words tumbled from Ann’s mouth with authority and compassion that only a mother can combine.

“Bill, it’s Bill,” gasped the woman, “He fell, he’s bleeding and the phone, and I, I, help please!”

Looking at Dan, Ned said, “They live across the road. Bill’s her husband, sounds like he needs you.”

The years spent rendering aid took over and the knife in Dan’s hand was quickly tossed onto the counter. He followed the others as they ran out the door. On the way Ned grabbed a first aid kit from the Jeep.

They found Bill and the ladder he had obviously fallen from in the kitchen. The remains of a light fixture were scattered across the floor. A blood soaked towel lay under the groaning man’s head.

Dan quickly slid on a pair of gloves and threw another to Ned. He directed Ned to hold Bill’s head steady and to press the towel gently to the wound on the man’s head.

Dan ran through his mental checklist. Bill’s continued groans and steady breathing proved he had an airway and was moving air. A severe head injury can cause hyperventilation. By quickly looking at the rise and fall of the chest, Dan could see that wasn’t the case here. He easily found a strong and regular pulse. Dan slowly ran his hands through Bill’s hair finding a large goose egg with an obvious laceration where he and the floor had met but no depressions or serious deformities. He quickly looked at the ears and face but found no fluids leaking from anywhere they shouldn’t. With Bill still lying on his back, Dan pressed along Bill’s neck and spine as far as he could, finding nothing amiss.

“Bill, Bill, you had a fall. My names Dan and I’m gonna help you,” Dan spoke gently to his patient. “There you are, welcome back to the land of the living,” he continued when Bill blinked his eyes open.

Bill began to struggle and Ned gave Dan a panicked look.

“Bill, you fell. I need you to try to relax. We’re gonna help you. Hold still for a couple more minutes. Bill, Bill you still with me?” Dan went on.

“Wha…where, oh my head. Jan, Janice. Where’s my wife?” Bill stammered.

Waving a much reassured Janice over, Dan said, “She’s right here. Bill, can you talk to me? I need you to do a couple things here for me. Open your eyes. There you go, very good. Look here. Follow my finger. Good, that all looks good.”

“I need a light, um, anyone see anything?” Dan asked.

“Bill smokes, will his lighter work? It’s on the table,” Janice said as Ann handed the lighter to Dan.

After managing to strike a flame, no mean feat with gloves on, Dan held it in front of Bill’s eyes. Dan watched the reaction of Bill’s pupils and once again had him track his finger as he moved it back and forth.

“Can I get up? Uhhhh, my head,” Bill groaned.

“Give me just a minute, okay? I need you to move your feet for me. Good, which hand am I touching? And squeeze both my hands….good. Now it’s quiz time. What is two plus two? Good. And what day is it? Year? And who is this lady? All very good, you passed with flying colors. I just need to check one more thing, I’ll be right back.” Dan said as he walked back to the hallway he had entered through.

As he studied the photos there, Ann asked what he was looking for.

Speaking in a low voice Dan explained, “When I checked his eyes, one of his pupils is bigger than the other. Now, that could mean he really bounced his melon hard and his brain is already starting to swell, or it could be normal for him. I’m hoping one of these pictures will show his eyes well enough to tell.”

“Really? I’ve never seen anyone like that,” said Ann as she helped him look.

“You most likely have, it’s not that uncommon but people rarely notice. I’d ask him or his wife but they are still a bit shaken up. A lot of new medics have made themselves look the fool by not checking to see what was ‘normal’. Yup, here. See in this picture, the right pupil is obviously bigger. Its baseline, that’s a good thing,” Dan said triumphantly.

”Okay Bill, besides your head, are you having any pain?” Dan asked. When Bill replied to the negative, Dan helped him to a sitting position. When Bill continued to have no new pains or dizziness, they moved him to a kitchen chair.

With the assistance of two bottles of water that Janice produced from the refrigerator, Dan was able to look at the laceration. He also noticed the light in the fridge did not come on when the door was open. A quick glance at the digital thermostat on the wall showed there was no power in this house either.

“Here’s the deal with your head. It looks like you smacked it pretty well but skulls being what they are, you came out on the winning side. I know it looks like a lot of blood here but that’s normal with a scalp wound. This could use a couple stitches to heal best but I don’t think that is much of an option.” Dan explained.

“Not an option, why?” asked Bill, wincing as he turned to look at Dan.

Ned nodded to Dan’s questioning look. Dan explained his theory about solar flares and what they had caused. Bill remained skeptical until Janice, who had been listening intently, showed him his lifeless Blackberry. The realization that his pocket computer wasn’t working seemed to distress him more than his head injury.

“My client information, my schedule, I…I didn’t sync last night! Ted was going to text me the tee time for today!”

Just then an infant’s cry was heard from another part of the house.

“I need to look in on Hannah,” said Janice. Ann joined her as she left the room.

“Yeah, well Bill, about your head. The bleeding has mostly stopped and I can probably patch you up if you want. I’m no doctor but I doubt you’re going to find a better offer any time soon,” said Dan.

Bill looked around. “You’re telling me that the Jag won’t run. That the power is out for who knows how long, and that I can’t go see Dr. Wentworth for a couple lousy stitches? No, you’re wrong. It’s just not possible. Even if the power is out for a few hours, I am sure the government or somebody will be here soon anyway. No, I’m going to take an aspirin and I’ll be okay,” he went on.

“Look, you don’t know me from Adam and not letting me do more is totally your prerogative. If you don’t want to believe me, that’s your thing. But at least listen to me on this: Don’t take an aspirin. It’s a blood thinner and will just make that egg you’re growing up there get bigger. Acetaminophen, you know Tylenol, a gram every 6 hours or so. That and ice are what’s going to help you,” an obviously frustrated Dan said as he stood.

“Thank you for your help. I appreciate what you did for me but we’ll be fine,” Bill said as he walked them toward the door.

Ann and Janice came back in, Janice carrying a soiled diaper. She seemed to have changed into another person after her few minutes away for the men. Her back was straight, the slumped shoulders had gone, and she had an air of command about her.

“Bill, go change. All that blood will scare the baby and she’s awake now. I’ll get things cleaned up in here.” She turned to Ann, “Thanks for the help back there. I needed it more than I thought. And I’d like to talk more, later. Dan, it was nice to finally meet you, Ann and Ned are on about you all the time. Sorry it had to be this way. If you’ll excuse me though…”

As the door closed behind them Dan mumbled “Bipolar much?”

“Stop that right now. She’s a good girl and has a good head on her shoulders. She sees what is what, even if she married that weenie,” Ann admonished with a stern look.

”Weenie huh? Tell me how you really feel…” Dan said as the three walked back into the notably warmer house, “So what is the story with them?”

“They are from last year’s crop of mountain migrants; moved up last summer. She was working in town doing something with computers until she had Hannah. That was about four months ago. He’s some kinda lawyer. Overall they’re good kids but had no idea what they got themselves into moving up here. They were really struggling when the snow flew and you know how Ma gets about babies so we’ve been helping them out.” Ned explained, “That guy Bill is about as useful as… well, a lawyer. I was plowing their drive out at first but then he gets a wild hair and decides he needs his very own plow truck. So what’s he do? In the middle of winter he buys a brand new Toyota, had the dealer slap a plow on it, and decides he’s gonna take care of business. In the first two passes he moves all the snow from his driveway straight across the road, blocking our driveway. On pass three, he hits a flower bed. Not sure how he did it but he punched a hole in the oil pan. Anyway, I ended up digging him out and pushing the truck to where you seen it next to the garage. I plowed his driveway the rest of the year.”

“Yeah? So Ma, what did you say to her back there? It’s like you gave the cowardly lion a medal or something?” Dan asked Ann.

“Not much. I just told her to think about what you said. She needs to understand what it means to her family, especially Hannah,” replied a satisfied Ann. “How about some breakfast while we talk this think out?”

[Nomad_Medic]

Ann put Ned and Dan to work carrying the camping supplies in from the garage. She quickly setup the Coleman stove and in no time had bacon and eggs sizzling away in the cast iron pans. The percolating coffee pot was retrieved from its place in the camp kitchen and joined the teapot on the woodstove. After heaping the food onto paper plates, Ann used the still hot pans to toast bread for everyone. The three sat at the kitchen table and ate while they talked.

“I guess we need a plan,” Dan said.

“That, son, is the understatement of the year.” Ned jabbed. “How about we get a little more specific? You’re the one into this survivalist stuff, what do you think we ought to do?”

“Fair enough, but for this to work, we are all going to be busting butt for a bit. Let’s start with the basics. Food, water, shelter, and defense.

“Food; Mom, that’s all you. I know how you keep the freezers stocked so they will hold the temperatures for a while. We can also add some of the snow and ice that’s left in the shade to help in that department but it’s a temporary thing. We need to eat what will go bad first and try to preserve anything we can. If we keep the fire going, we can jerk a bunch of the meat. I don’t know how your salt situation is but maybe we can pack some of it in salt to make it last. Anyway, I’m getting ahead of myself. Can you make an inventory of what we have? That will give us somewhere to start.

“Water; That could be a problem. I saw a couple cases of one liter bottles in the garage but that won’t last long. We need to figure out a way to get water from the well. We probably have 500 gallons of chlorinated water in the hot tub. We can use that for washing and flushing and such. I bet you have some powdered chemicals we can use to purify water later on. While I’m thinking about it, we need to conserve everything we can. That means we use minimal water but we also do things like save the empty bottles.

“Shelter; I think we’re covered there. The woodstove will keep us nice and toasty. We should close off the parts of the house where we aren’t spending time. It’s only April and we could still get snowed. Last year you had that big storm in May that left almost two feet up here.

“Defense; Call me paranoid but I think we ought to get into the safe and arm-up. People are dumb and they panic. We probably have a few days before it really sinks in for most folks but that won’t last. When realization dawns, people are going to freak out. Is that compound thing up the hill still there?”

Ned looked grim, “The one that flies a Nazi flag? Yeah, they’re still up there and last summer they had a big rally. There were probably 75 bikes running around town. I think there are about half a dozen that live there year round. I’m sure they’re cooking meth. Yeah, I had forgotten about those dirtbags.”

“We can hope they keep to themselves. Besides, most people will be on foot so even if that gang decides to come up from Denver, it will take a while. Either way, it won’t hurt anything to be armed,” Dan said.

“You just said ‘most’ but earlier you said this thing probably cooked all electronics. Which is it?” Ned pressed.

“EMP overloads electronics but to what extent, I have no way of knowing. There were quite a few people concerned about this sort of thing. They were putting as few electronics into their rigs as possible. Some stockpiled spares in shielded cabinets. Those vehicles might still be running around and maybe some of the older trucks. Anything with a computer is toast. But I’m just guessing here. Most military hardware is shielded to some extent so who knows what will roll out of Ft. Carson?” Dan explained with a shrug.

“I have a couple old distributors out in the shop somewhere; I might be able to get us rolling,” Ned went on, “I’d think a running vehicle just got real valuable.”

“That it did. I guess that needs to be on the list after the basics,” said Dan as he pushed back from the table. “We need to get started. Mom, you have the dishes okay? I’ll bring in a couple five gallon buckets from the hot tub. Save the water, we can use it to flush the toilets for a bit. We’ll get the safe open and get started, sound good?”

Ann and Ned nodded there agreement and all three got to work. Before filling the kitchen sink, Dan removed the p-trap and placed an empty 5 gallon bucket under the drain to recover the used water. Ann had breakfast cleaned up and had heated an extra gallon of water on the woodstove by the time Dan finished with the plumbing. While the others worked in the kitchen, Ned had opened the safe and laid out each of the weapons. He also got out the cleaning supplies. Dan soon joined him.

Dan began to look over the collection of firearms assembled before him. It wasn’t exactly what he would have asked for if he had a choice but he wasn’t disappointed with the weapons.

There were six handguns laid out on the table. Dan knew the two stainless steel Ruger P-series pistols had been purchased years before. The 9mm had been fired less than 100 times but the .45 had run through ten times as many rounds. Most of those had been fired by Dan while still in high school. The Mark II in .22 LR rounded out the Rugers. The only revolver in the lot was the Smith & Wesson 686 in .357 mag. This was another pistol Dan was very familiar with. He considered the Kel Tec P-3AT in .380 as an oversized cap gun and didn’t know if it had ever been fired.

The last pistol was new to the collection. Dan had dreamed of owning one but the money had never been available. He quickly checked the chamber ensuring the weapon was safe and picked it up. “This is one fine piece of German engineering,” Dan said with awe, “An H&K USP .45 Expert. How did you…better question, why did you get this? You’re a lefty and this isn’t.”

“I told you I came across a deal,” Ned replied, “A guy at work needed money so I made an offer on a couple guns.”

“A couple? If he had this, I’d love to see what else you picked up from him,” Dan continued.

Ned’s response was to reach back into the safe and produce another high quality weapon. He handed it to Dan to inspect.

At first glance, Dan thought he was simply seeing yet another AR-15 clone. On closer inspection, he held a much-evolved cousin of that Stoner classic. This weapon featured a flattop receiver with an EOTECH holographic site, an unusual collapsing stock, and Picatinny rails bristling with toys. A quick glance at the receiver proved that the previous owner liked high quality weapons.

“Wow, I’ve read about these but never seen one,” Dan said. He went on, “This is a pretty new design and they are supposed to be rock solid reliable. The problem with rifles like the M-16 or the AR-15 is that the gas system uses the products of combustion to re-cock the action. Sig and a few other companies began using a piston system like what is in this beast and the reviews have all been incredible. So you bought a USP .45 Expert and a Sig556 from this guy? I shudder to think of what you paid.”

“Yes, yes you would,” was all the answer Dan got.

Dan saw that the pair of SKS he had convinced Ned to pick up prior to the Y2K non-event were still on hand. Grandpa’s lever action .30-30 (a model 94 of course), a basic Ruger 10-22, the Remington Model 700 in .243 that Ann had brought out of Alaska with her, and a restored Henry pump .22 LR rounded out the rifles. Ned told Dan he had a left handed bolt-action rifle that wouldn’t fire chambered in .30-06 still in the safe.

The proliferation of shotguns since Dan’s last visit baffled him. Ned explained that while in some circles business was conducted on the golf course; it wasn’t so in the heavy equipment world. This sort of man went shooting; specifically they shot pheasant. Multimillion dollar deals were closed in the open fields of Eastern Colorado. And just like rising accountants needed to have a spiffy set of clubs, a fella needed a nice shotgun.

“But that’s not the whole reason. When I first started out, I figured that the 870 would be fine, just a little awkward with the safety. Nope, the shells were ejecting across my face and that was only gonna happen once. After that I tried the double gun there but it didn’t take long to figure out I needed a semiautomatic. That Benelli shoots smooth as silk and ejects through the bottom. I’ve been real happy with it.”

“And those? You said you didn’t like the 870, why do you have three? You know they have 12 step programs for people like you,” Dan teased.

Ned mumbled something about “A good deal…” then said, “You want to see the ammunition? It’s in the basement.”

When Ned opened the closet door, he was surprised. He spent the next 20 minutes rearranging and doing a quick count. They had roughly a thousand rounds for the SKS, and the same for the Sig. There were only four or five boxes each for the .30-30 and the .243 but they had several thousand .22 LR rounds. The situation with the handgun ammunition was similar. They had about a thousands rounds of .45 ACP, five hundred .357 mag with a like number of .38 Special. The 9mm was going to stay hungry with only two hundred rounds and they had none for the .380. Several ammunition cans full of an assortment of 12 gauge shells rounded out the stocks. There were at least five magazines for each of the pistols and a large box of magazines for the Sig. Dan was impressed.

Dan called everyone together, “We are pretty well covered in the defense area,” he explained. “Like I said before though, we all need to arm up. You shouldn’t be more than an arm’s reach from a firearm from here on out. When we get a little more settled we’ll site these in but for now if we get into trouble, it’s spray-n-pray. Decide what you want for use now and I’ll get things oiled up.”

Ned chose to wear the .357 in the Uncle Mike’s sidekick holster he stored it in. Ann declined a sidearm and said she would be happier having a shotgun available. Dan surprised no one when he chose the USP. Dan lubricated and function checked the three weapons. He also loaded the Benelli for Ned. He removed the now useless holographic site and tactical light from the Sig. After adjusting the length of the stock, he tested the feel of the weapon with the stock folded. Satisfied he could fire it from either position, he loaded half a dozen magazines with 5.56 rounds. These he threw into a small duffle bag. The rifle and duffel were set in the living room and Ann and Ned’s shotguns placed in the kitchen. Two ammunition cans filled with 00 buckshot were tucked into a corner. Lacking a proper holster, Dan improvised one for the USP by reinforcing several sheets of cardboard with duct tape.

‘Ghetto but functional,’ thought Dan. ‘I’m gonna have to make something better as soon as I can.’

The immediate concerns addressed, thoughts turned to the water situation. The house had a strong well. The problem they faced was that the well was over 200 feet deep and with no power, the pump was useless. Ned and Dan went to the well cap near the side of the house. They soon determined that the original builders had used a submersible pump that was attached to a recovery line. They removed the well cap and began the long, wet process of pulling the assembly from the casing. The men quickly realized that 200 feet was a very long way to pull. A come-along cable winch was soon put to use. After two hours of work, the pump was free. When Ned looked closely at the pump, he could see melted wiring.

“That just don’t seem right,” he told Dan. “If this pump was buried in all that rock, it should have been protected, shouldn’t it? And even if it wasn’t, what could have melted it like that?”

“I’m not sure. You’d think it would have been safe that deep but I guess not. And maybe some areas got hit with more juice than others. I just don’t know,” Dan answered, shaking his head.

Now that the men had the pump out, they needed to find a way to get water from the six inch well casing. Ned provided the solution. He removed a section of downspout from the gutter. This gave him a four inch diameter tube eight feet long. He used a propane torch to heat one end of this pipe until it was malleable. Then, using gloved hands, he shaped it into a cone.

Dan was mystified. Ned refused to explain. Instead he instructed Dan to secure the recovery line to the opposite end of the tube while he worked on the next step. And with that he disappeared into the house. Emerging a few minutes later with a small bag in hand, he walked to Janice and Bill’s home. Dan laughed to himself when Ned looked both ways before crossing the road.

Ten minutes later Ned reappeared. He was tossing a small rubber ball between his hands. Janice carried the baby as she and Bill followed Ned across the road.

“Bill here would like to talk with you while we finish things up. Janice, I am sure Ann would appreciate those hands of yours in the kitchen if you don’t mind,” Ned addressed the others.

“Look, I wanted to say I’m sorry for the way I acted. Janice and I have talked this through and while I am not sure I believe your take on things, I do know we are in trouble. And this thing won’t quit oozing blood. You said before you might be able to stitch it up?” Bill asked.

“Um, well, I didn’t say I could sew it but I think we can close it,” Dan answered, “You got lucky and it’s a nice straight split. I can probably use your hair to tie it together.”

Bill looked surprised but said, “I guess if that is what we have, that is what I’ll get.”

Ned interrupted the two by standing the pipe on end. While they had been talking, he had dropped the ball into the tube. With it nestled against the cone, he had placed two screws through the pipe, less than an inch from the end. When he turned the tube over, the ball stayed inside.

“I get it now!” Dan exclaimed. “When we drop this thing down the well, the ball will float up against those screws. The water will flow around it and fill the tube. When we pull it up, the weight of the water will push the ball down and seal the end. We pull the whole thing out and we have water!”

“Wow, that is genius,” said Bill catching Dan’s excitement. “Water. I hadn’t thought about water. Can you build us one of those? I think we have some more balls in with Hannah’s things. I can pay.”

Ned gave Bill a look. The ‘You’re a weenie’ look. He simply said, “I am sure we can work something out.”

The men went into the house and were promptly thrown out. Ann insisted the two budding hydrologist clean themselves using water from the hot tub before they come anywhere near the food, the baby, or women. Several minutes and 10 gallons of water later they were welcomed to the kitchen.

Ann had been busy while the men were outside. The stovetop was hidden by several large pots emitting sumptuous smells. She explained that she was stewing as much of the perishable food from the refrigerator as she could. Those pots contained food that would need to be eaten in the next few days. Ann had also finished inventorying the food in the kitchen and was starting on the pantry.

Dan asked, “Do either of you ladies have some nail polish that Bill can borrow? He’ll be able to return it in about 5 days,” with a mischievous grin.

“Why would I want nail polish at all, much less for five days?” asked a confused Bill.

“I was kidding. I’m going to use your hair to tie the cut in your head closed. Since knots in hair tend to work themselves loose, I’ll use a drop of nail polish to hold the knots in place for five days. Then we’ll cut the hair out,” explained Dan.

Ann retrieved the nail polish as well as her ‘first aid bin’. This bin was a collection of pills, creams, ointments, and bandages that had been accumulated over the years. To call it a ‘kit’ would imply a level of organization that just didn’t exist. Fortunately, it contained several items Dan was looking for.

Janice was happy to help when Dan asked her to start him some water to boiling. He explained that water from the hot tub would work. While the water heated, Dan had Bill sit in a kitchen chair and lean forward. After moving to several spots in the kitchen, they settled on the deck because it had the most available light. Dan used some more water from the hot tub to wash the remainder of the dried and matted blood from Bill’s scalp. The movement started the bleeding again but Dan was able to keep it in check by applying pressure to the wound. Dan knew that boiling the water was probably overkill but he decided not to take any chances. The final rinse before closing the wound be done with boiled chlorinated watered mixed with hydrogen peroxide. The last thing he wanted was to have an infected lawyer after him, even in the PAW. Using a plastic bag with the corner cut away, Dan irrigated the wound with about half a gallon of his super cleanser mixture. He then collected a small bunch of hair from either side of the wound and tied a square knot into them, pulling the wound together. He tried to keep the knots to the right side, knowing that knots directly over the wound could easily become stuck in the healing tissue. He repeated this four more times. With the pseudo-sutures in place, the bleeding almost completely stopped. Dan waited until the hair was dry and applied a drop of the cherry red nail polish to each knot. The procedure was completed with a dab of antibiotic ointment when the polish was dry.

“We will need to keep an eye on that. Scalps are really vascular so they tend to heal well but an infection now would be very bad. I want you to leave it alone for 24 hours and then Janice; you’ll need to wash it gently with soap and water twice a day. I want to see it daily after it has been cleaned in the mornings. Then I’ll probably put some more ointment on it.” Dan explained, easily slipping into Medic mode.

The infirmary was cleaned up and stored away. Ann invited Bill, Janice, and of course Hannah, to stay for lunch. Places were set at the outside table and everyone settled down to fill bellies that had been ignored in the excitement of the day. The men didn’t realize the danger they were in. Their first clue was provided by Ann.

“Janice and I were talking,” she began, “and there is a lot of work to be done for us all. We need to go through our things, decide what we can use, make sure we have enough firewood, food, water… the list goes on and on. And the same goes for you kids.”

Bill’s look was somewhere between a deer frozen in the headlights and a cornered raccoon. It was obvious he still hadn’t come to terms with what they were facing.

Ann continued, “And even though Dan is here to help us, we’re old,” which earned her a scowl from Ned and an eye-roll from Dan, “and could really use your help. Besides, your house is going to get real cold tonight. That gas fireplace is pretty and all but do you think it will heat the house? We all know it won’t. You kids just need to move into the spare bed…”

“Now wait a minute woman,” interrupted Ned, “we need to talk about this.”

“Neldon Lexington, if you think we need to ‘talk’ about making a four month old baby sleep in a cold house with no water and no protection, you need to THINK again!” Ann admonished. “We have the space, we have heat, and thanks to you, we have the water. Now, is that settled?”

Dan had to suppress a laugh as his childhood years came rushing back. When Mom got that tone, your best bet was to sit still, shut up, and do what you’re told. Obviously, Bill didn’t know that tone.

“We are just fine at our house. The gas logs will work wonderfully and if not, we can bring the barbeque in as well. We have…..” he began.

Now it was Janice’s turn to exercise her right as a wife to take her husband down a few notches. She began in a low tone, “Bill dear, I love you. I really do. And I knew what I was getting into five years ago so I am going to blame this on stress and your injury and…and you just being out of your element. We are going to move in here, at least until we can figure things out,” her pitch and volume were continuing to increase, “and if you ever suggest something as stupid as setting up a propane grill in the house again YOU WILL SLEEP OUTSIDE!”

The quiet tension that followed was broken when Hannah began to cry. That seemed to be both couple’s cue to all talk at once. Janice yelling at Bill while comforting Hannah, Ned objecting to Ann who was also laying into Bill. Dan let them go for a few minutes until he couldn’t take it anymore.

“ENOUGH! This is ridicules. I hate to side against the rest of the XY club here but this just makes sense. We all have a lot to gain from it but more importantly we all have everything to loose. If you cannot work together, we will all DIE. It might be tonight, it might be in three years but if you cannot help each other, we have NO chance. Ned, we wrote up a laundry list of things to do this morning and that isn’t a quarter of what really needs to be done to survive. What are you going to do when the food runs out? What about when the snow flies next winter? And Bill, I’ve seen the way you keep looking at this pistol. I know that look. You don’t own a single firearm do you? If someone wanted to take your home, your wife, your LIFE, you have no way to stop them do you? You need to put your ego in some cave somewhere and realize it is ALL about surviving now.” Taking a deep breath he continued, “When Patrick Henry said, ‘United we stand, divided we fall,’ he was referring to standing against tyranny. That phrase has just a much meaning for us here and now as it did during the founding of this country. I know I have no vote here. I bring nothing to this partnership but I beg you to think this through.”

“You’re wrong about one thing. Today has been the hardest day of my life and you have shown exactly what you bring to this partnership. Your skills may have saved the life of my child’s father. You’ve kept your head and you are looking towards the future. I cannot imagine what it is like for you to be going through this knowing your family is out there without you. Ned, Bill, I am sorry for the way we sprung this to you. Please, for all of us, think about what this means.” Janice asked.

“It just makes sense. We all know that. Just think for a minute,” was Ann’s contrite contribution.

Neither Ned nor Bill said anything. After what seemed like hours, Ned extended his hand. As Bill took it in his, a partnership was formed, for better or worse.

[Nomad_Medic]

The rest of the afternoon was spent moving the Sullivan’s into Lexington’s home. A wheel barrow was pressed into service hauling clothing and bedding across the road. After the living quarters were setup, efforts turned to food and water. Another two cases of bottled water and three, five gallon jugs for a water dispenser were added to the communal stores. Several cans of veggies and soup along with 10 pounds of sugar, half a bag of flour, and various other baking goods were added. They locked Bill and Janice’s empty home and returned to ‘The Big House’.

The evening chill returned and with it the Auroras. On this night they bore an almost sinister look. Everyone found themselves stealing glances at the flickering sky as they worked. Was this the source of there misery?

All hands were required for the evening chores. It didn’t take long for everyone, even Bill, to fall into the habit of pitching in. Ann and Janice concentrated on preparing the meal. The men filled the wood bin, started heating water for washing, and lit candles. As the fire began to take the edge off the chill, Janice suggested they use the extra blankets to close off even more of the house. Dan added that putting some blankets over the windows would help to keep light and heat in. This was easily accomplished and the living space heated quickly.

Dinner that night was stew, salad, and bread. These were all made from items the women worried would spoil first. Paper plates were again used and the trash was added to the fire. After dinner, Bill excused himself to smoke. He was pale and shaking when he called the others outside.

Across the valley, flashes of light could be seen among the trees. The sound of the sporadic gunfire was muffled by the distance. Suddenly a large fireball exploded skyward and a dull thump reached them seconds later.

“Propane tank,” Dan said quietly.

“What is happening? Why are people fighting?” asked Bill, an edge of panic in his voice.

“Who knows? It could be old grudges, could be somebody taking from somebody else. No way to know. We can’t know anything.” Ned replied.

As they stepped inside Dan corrected Ned, “That’s not true. We just found out a couple things. First is that there are people that have already started to go feral. Things have changed and we really need to be on guard now. Second, we know it’s more than one person. I could see fire coming from four or five separate spots. That was just what we could see, who knows how many people were really involved over there? Did anyone notice where that wasn’t happening?”

When no one replied, Dan went on,”That skinhead complex is up the hill, not over there. We may be worrying about the wrong bad guys.”

“We’re going to need to set a watch, maybe two. I was hoping we would be okay for a few more days but I guess I was wrong. To make this work, I think we are all going to have to take a swing. Let’s see, it’s getting dark at about 1930. We probably ought to follow the military doctrine of 100% stand to at sunrise and sunset so that means we’re all on watch from about 1900 to 2000 from now on. Same goes for mornings, everyone up from 0600 to 0700. The sun is already well down so for tonight let’s take three hour hitches. Mom, can you take the first watch, Ned second, and I’ll take third. How does that sound?” Dan asked.

“I like the idea but there is one major flaw. What time is it?” Ned asked.

Dan slapped himself in the forehead, “Right, no clocks!”

“And what about us?” Janice asked. “We’re part of this too, we should help.”

“You will, but we need to get you up to speed on firearms first. That will happen tomorrow,” Dan explained.

“I have something that might help. In my shaving kit I have a little wind up alarm clock. I use it when I’m traveling,” Bill offered. “We won’t be able to tell what time it is but it will tell you when three hours have passed.”

“That’s great. Let’s get setup then. My room has the best view of the road so for now that is where the guard should be. We have Mom’s bird watching bino’s that are in the kitchen window. Those will work to scan the approaches and down the road. We can walk around in the house and peek out windows, as long as we make sure there is no light behind us. I think that should be okay as long as we don’t get into a pattern of looking from the same spots and we sing out if anything looks wrong. The most important thing is that whoever is on watch doesn’t fall asleep. I’ll crash on the couch tonight. Tomorrow we can work out a better system,” Dan said.

Bill’s clock, an ammo can of shotgun shells, and a pitcher of hot water for the instant coffee were quickly setup in the bedroom that would be used for the observation post. As a last minute thought, Dan added a pen and paper with instructions to write down anything odd that people saw.

Everyone was tired from the efforts of the day. The ups and downs and intermittent adrenalin surges had taken a toll on all of them. Within minutes both Ann and Ned were fast asleep.

In his exhaustion, Dan lay awake thinking of home. Lynne had started to see the benefits of preparing for a social collapse after watching Dan for years. They had purchased their current home outside Portland with thoughts towards self sufficiency. The garden they grew each year allowed them to keep several cases of vegetables on hand. The chickens were producing almost two dozen eggs daily. The freezer was filled with rabbit, chicken, and turkey, with breeding stock on the hoof so to speak. The irrigation well on the property gave a slow but steady flow and he had shown her how to setup the hand pump. She still had almost two cords of wood to heat with. He knew she would use the rifles and shotgun to defend herself and the kids if need be. Still, he worried. What if someone got hurt? What if the Golden Hordes swept through the countryside? There were so many ways his family could be in trouble. His last thought as he fell asleep was that he HAD to get home.

The night passed without incident. Dan woke the household at the end of his three hour watch. All five adults watched as dawn chased the phantom lights from the sky and the shadows from the yard.

Breakfast was a simple affair. More stew, more bread, and copious amounts of coffee. No one wanted to think about mornings after the coffee was gone. Fortunately, that day was far off. Because the drive to the nearest Sam’s Club had taken an hour each way, Ann made it worth her time. No trip to Sam’s was complete if there was room left in the Suburban. Ned had given up trying to understand why she shopped that way when it was just the two of them. Now he was grateful for it.

“Today I want to see if I can get us a working vehicle. We ought to collect up all the fuel we can too. Even if we don’t get a rig running, I am sure we’ll have a use for it.” Ned said over the top of his third cup of coffee.

“Yeah, Bill and I can scrounge gas if you have something for us to put it in. I’d like to get Janice and Bill setup with weapons today. I also want to walk the property and see if there is anything we can do to warn us about visitors, and to just generally look things over. We probably should make another pass through Bill and Janice’s place, plus we never did get into the garage over there. I am sure we’ll be able to put some of the goodies in there to use,” Dan replied.

“We have a campstove like yours and some other camping gear that would be good to grab. Ann, do you think we should get anything from my craft room?” Janice asked.

Ann said, “That treadle of your grandmother’s is definitely going to be useful. I sewed on one for years when we lived in Alaska before Dan was born. A lot of the things you have in there are going to be very hard to find now. Needles, thread, and any fabric you’ve got; we should bring it all over here. We can put it in the basement with mine. I guess that embroidery machine is useless; we can get the boys to get it out of the way. Speaking of the basement, we only have so many candles. Light is going to be a problem when we are out. Anybody have any thoughts?”

No one did. “Conservation is the name of the game until we rig something better then. Janice and I will finish going through the food today. I think we should collect all the booze from the two houses and store it in the garage.” Ann finished.

“Oh, I should put together some kind of aid bag too. And we need to start thinking about sanitation. And we should sight...” Dan began.

“Easy there Chief, lets get started on this stuff and see where we are at lunch, okay?” Ned interrupted.

Everyone seemed to agree with that idea. Janice excused herself to feed Hannah, Ned went to the shop, and Ann to the pantry. Bill and Dan spent a few minutes cleaning and re-dressing Bill’s head wound then went to the safe.

Standing in front of the safe, Dan asked, “Have you ever actually fired a gun before?”

“Yes, I have. Out at the ran…..that’s it. The Ranch! Janice! I need to talk to my wife,” clamored Bill.

Several minutes later, Bill reappeared with a grin on his face. He told Dan that everyone needed to meet in the kitchen to talk. Dan was reluctant to waste any more time talking, but relented when Janice and Ann added their voices. It appeared everyone knew what they were going to be talking about except Dan and Ned. That being the case, Dan found Ned digging through boxes of parts and convinced him something important was up.

With everyone assembled, Janice began, “Last night Dan brought up some really good questions. Questions like what we are going to do for food when what we have runs out and how we are going to survive the winter. I don’t think any of us are ready to figure out how we can do that here, but I have a better solution.

“I grew up on a horse farm in Nebraska. I’m the youngest of six, with five brothers. Bill and I met in college and when he finished law school he agreed to move out of Boston. The main reason I wanted to come back West was so I could be closer to my brother James. We have always been close. The firm that Bill works… worked for was in Denver and this was as far as he could commute. But we chose Conifer because it was on the way to James’s place. He lives out near Jefferson on a ranch. He raises cattle. His property is almost 1500 acres and it backs up to national forest land. They have two ponds, a big garden even a couple green houses.”

She went on, “Ned, you were saying that you think you can get a car running. It only takes an hour to drive there. I know James and Mary and the kids will be fine. He’s always been a survivalist and hunter. If we can get there, we’ll be fine too.”

“Well, that certainly is interesting,” Ned said. “What makes you think he’d take us in?”

“He’d do it if I asked. But that’s not the only reason. You can build, fix, and create things. I’ve seen what you have done in your shop. You built the big trailer and that race car. You figured out how to get water out of the well. And Ann, she can do anything. I’ve seen her sew cloths, upholster a car, and build a deck. She’s a good cook, heck she can cut hair. And Dan’s a paramedic, people always need patching up,” she answered.

“Don’t count on me getting you in. I need to get to my family,” Dan countered.

“Help us get to my brother’s house and I know he can help you get back to Portland,” Janice said.

“This might be a good idea. A big ranch with a good water source would probably come out of something like this okay. Jefferson isn’t that far but it’s over some pretty rugged country. If anything happens to the highway or a storm comes up, the trip could kill us all,” Ned thought aloud.

“Jefferson’s out by Fairplay, right? I used to hunt out there. There’s a lot of open range and it backs right up to the mountains. With a decent setup a group could survive, maybe even thrive, “said Dan. “But you’re right. If that is the direction you guys want to go, we need to do it soon. The weather is a risk but the more time passes the more desperate people will get. I know the highway goes through at least one fairly good sized community and I think it’s more like three. If those communities get organized and want to stop us, then any trip is done.”

Ned glanced at Ann, “You’re awfully quiet over there. What do you think?”

“We’ve spent a lot of years in this old house. We’ve met brides to be and welcomed Grandbabies into the family. Over there is where Jessie fell and needed stitches and this painting was my mother’s. But it’s just a place, no matter how many memories we have here. Now we have new family to look after. I think we need to try.” As she spoke, tears ran down her face.

Ned wrapped an arm around his wife. Dan nodded his agreement. “Then I guess I better see if we’re walking or not huh gang? I’ll be in the shop. We still need that gas, maybe even more so now. In fact, all that stuff we talked about still needs doing.” With that he kissed Ann on top of the head and walked out.

Dan grabbed Bill and Janice and took them to the safe. There he removed a 12 gauge pump shotgun and the semiautomatic .22 rifle. After verifying they were unloaded and safe, he took the Sullivans through the basic operation of the weapons. Once they could identify the major parts and had an idea of their purpose, he grabbed an ammunition can with several shells, bullets, and safety gear, and took them outside. Dan knew of an area near the fence that provided a natural backstop.

Once outside, Dan setup several pieces of wood to use as targets. Janice and Bill took turns firing the .22. It didn’t take long to see that Janice was experienced with firearms.

“When I was growing up, we went shooting a lot. My dad was a bit of a gun nut and all of us kids had a lot of fun plinking at cans. I haven’t shot much since I went away to college but I guess I’m still pretty decent.” Janice explained.

Seeing that Bill would need more practice than they had time for, Dan explained the concept of buckshot. Dan’s worry that the recoil of the 12 gauge would put Bill off was unfounded. After getting the feel for it with the first two shells, Bill rapidly fired the remaining five, disintegrating the log he had engaged.

Flushed and grinning, Bill said, “Wow, that thing is great. And I’m not sure which is better, the sounds it makes when you shoot it or the one it makes when you pump it.”

“Yeah, Hollywood has turned that ‘shick-shick’ into the international sign for ‘Stop whatever it is you think you’re doing.” Dan said with a chuckle.

“Okay, later we can step you up to a bigger rifle Janice but for now I guess you two are set. Keep these loaded but safed and they should to be with you all the times. If you aren’t holding it, this weapon better be no farther than an arm’s reach away. All of our live could very literally depend on it.” Dan told his new recruits.

The rest of the morning was a blur of activity for everyone. Dan and Bill began by collection all the gas cans they could find. Ned used them extensively for his race car and had a dozen on hand. Half of these were full. There was one half full five gallon can of 40:1 fuel mixed for the chainsaw. The men were able to siphon the fuel from one of the roadsters in the shop. They talked with Ned and they all agreed the Suburban would never run again; its tank was punctured to collect the 20 gallons it contained. Ned told them to leave the Blazer alone. Another 17 gallons were drained from Ned’s work truck again with the use of a hammer and punch. Bill’s Jaguar and Janice’s Forester contributed another 25 gallons. By the time the had gone through all but the three vehicles Ned was working on, they had over 100 gallons. All the five gallon jugs had been filled as had two gas tanks from project cars and the spare fuel cell for the race car.

Ned had not been idle himself. It didn’t take long to determine the only vehicles he had any chance of salvaging were the most primitive of the collection. Those were the ‘72 Blazer (the plow truck) and the ‘76 Silverado that Ned been working on in the garage. He knew the electronic ignition in the Jeep wouldn’t have survived but thought he may be able to improvise what he needed from parts on hand. Remembering what Dan had said, he began by locating the distributors, points, and condensers. Looking them over he could see some were fused but he was able to assemble a pair that should work. He bypassed the ignition switch assembly in the Blazer and removed the seized alternator. Just before stopping for lunch, he installed the new distributor.

It was obvious to the men that Ann and Janice had been just as busy. The inventory had taken less time than anticipated. This allowed the women to move onto saving frozen food. One freezer had only been half full when the power went out. This lack of already frozen goods had caused it to begin thawing much sooner that the others. The women had emptied it and set the partially thawed meat aside. Into this freezer they pilled as much snow and ice as they could find. They now had an improvised refrigerator. The dairy goods and the remaining fresh fruits and vegetables were moved into it. They then began processing the partially thawed meat. The majority was beef and it was quickly cut into thin strips. Its half frozen state helped this go smoothly and they soon had several pounds of stripped beef. Half of this was immediately strung on thick twine and hung near the woodstove. The other half was left to soak in a brine of soy and teriyaki sauces, to be dried later.

Lunch finished off the stews made from the refrigerator’s contents and the bread. They would now be eating from the store of frozen goods. During the meal, they each reported on the day’s progress.

“I’m ready to test the Blazer so I’ll need you boys to help me push start her.” Ned began. “We won’t have a whole lot of run time but we ought to be able to figure out if this will work at all. If it does, I think I can do the same with Uncle Timmy’s pickup.”

“Really? Two working vehicles and we could be in business,” said Dan.

“Ann and I will be done cutting up jerky in about an hour. I’d like to go home and get my sewing stuff. We could grab the alcohol like we planned too,” said Janice.

“Fair enough. After we provide the oomph to get the Blazer going, Bill and I can haul the embroidery machine out of the basement then go next door with you. Work for you?” said Dan as he looked to Bill.

“That’s fine. It would be really nice if I had a better way to carry this,” he said pointing to his shotgun. “Maybe with one of those rope things like in the movies.”

“I’ve got some webbing downstairs in my things. I can make a few slings but it’ll have to wait until we get the food taken care of,” offered Ann.

With that, lunch was finished. They all helped to clean the few dishes up and went back to work.

Ned, Bill, and Dan pushed the Blazer out of the driveway and onto the road. Fortunately, they live on a relatively straight section of what in some areas seemed like a goat trail. In front of the house it sloped gently downhill before diving off the ridgeline to drop back into town. This gave them almost half a mile to work in.

The younger men pushed from the rear bumper and Ned the driver’s door. The vehicle quickly built up speed and Ned hopped in. When the speedometer climbed to 20 mph, Ned slid the transmission into second gear and quickly released the clutch. Dan and Bill watched as the vehicle lurched, nearly stopped, then came to life.

In the house, Ann and Janice heard a loud roar and screams. Hannah was left crying in her cradle as both women, guns in hand, ran out the front door. They found Bill and Dan literally dancing in the street as Ned idled the truck back towards the house.

“Whoa hey, don’t shoot!” yelled Bill when he saw the approaching barrels.

Realizing there was no danger, the women stormed back to the house. Both growled out phrases that included words like “Heart attack”, “Morons”, “Thoughtless”.

Ned brought the truck to a stop in front of the shop and quickly jumped out. He grabbed a wrench from the workbench and loosened the retaining nut on the distributor clamp. Listening closely to the sound of the engine, he adjusted the time until it ran smoothly and then retightened the clamp.

After shutting it off, he turned to his still excited assistants. “It has no alternator so when the battery dies, the engine dies. I can extend that time by eliminating all the other power drains but I doubt we’ll get more than an hour out of each battery. Luck for us, we’ve got about eight of the things around. Each time we shut the engine off we’ll need to push start it again. Even with all that, it should be enough to get us out to Jefferson.”

Ned turned his attention to the pickup while Bill and Dan returned to the house. They quickly removed the large computer controlled embroidery machine from the basement. Under Ann’s direction, they moved the still valuable spools of thread to a back corner. This nearly doubled the open floor space in the basement.

Ann, Janice, Bill and Dan made there way back to the Sullivan’s house. Once there, the men went to the garage, the women into the house.

The first think the men did was to push the silver Jaguar XF out of the garage. Bill pointed out the camping supplies and those three totes began a pile. Two bags of briquettes and a jug of bbq lighter fluid were added. They found another gas can containing two gallons of 40:1 gas. A jug of liquid bleach, two plastic tarps, and a duffle bag full of smaller bags were taken as well.

When Dan opened contractor-sized trashbag full of clothing, he asked, “What are these?”

“Donation stuff I was going to take to the Salvation Army in town. It’s mostly worn out clothes and some things James bought me for Christmas last year. I think he meant them as a joke,” replied Bill. “You’re welcome to anything you want; some of it might even fit you.”

Dan overturned the bag and quickly saw the ‘joke’ clothing. The pair of Carhartt heavy canvas pants in Realtree camouflage with a matching shirt had obviously never been worn. There were also two more new pairs in Carhartt’s trademark brown. He also found several tee shirts in various states of decline. Since Dan had little more than the clothes he was traveling in, he put the earth toned shirts and new clothes aside.

Looking around the garage, he said, “I think this is it for now. We’ll want to come back for things like that rope and those tools but for now, let’s go help the girls.”

Janice called around the corner, “We’re fine but we need boxes for some of this stuff. Why don’t you empty some of the Rubbermaid’s the Christmas decorations are in so we can use them?”

As they emptied the decorations, Dan noticed that the Sullivan’s had several of the stackable plastic containers. Most were labeled with things like ‘Albums’ or ‘Scrapbooking 1998’ so he had discounted them on the first pass. He now realized their value was as containers, not necessarily for what they contained. After explaining this to Bill, the men emptied a total of 15 totes.

The stock of sewing supplies filled three. Emptying the bar took another two. All of these were loaded into a yard cart that Janice recovered from the back yard. For the next two hours, trip after trip was made between the two homes. The final load was the treadle sewing machine carefully balanced in the cart. Everyone helped carry the newfound supplies to the basement where Ann and Janice set about organizing them before the sun set.

Dan and Bill stopped in at the shop to see how thing fared with Ned. They found him seated at the workbench. He held a partially assembled carburetor in his large hands.

“Okay, I’m not the best Wrench in town, but last time I checked, outside of maybe a choke, there are not electric parts in a carburetor,” Dan remarked.

“Thank you Captain Obvious. Why do you think I had this thing, “he said pointing at the pickup behind him, “in here in the first place? I’ll have the carburetor back together in a few minutes so I can start on the rest of the mess.”

With nothing helpful to do in the shop, Dan and Bill moved on. From the shop they walked along the fence line. The fence was old but strong. The five foot tall galvanized steel field fencing was in good condition with steel posts driven into the ground every 12 feet. Occasionally they could see the remains of the electric wire that at one time had crowned the fence to keep the horse away from it. Dan was familiar with fence like this. He had installed something similar on his property to keep his dogs in. He also knew it wouldn’t keep two footed animals out.

Dan was trying to think of ways to increase their security when his thoughts were interrupted by Bill.

“What is that?” said Bill, pointing to the East.

[Nomad_Medic]

In the near distance, thick black smoke boiled into the still air. There was no mistaking the location of the fire.

“That’s got to be the big grocery store in town,” said Dan. “Smoke like that, all of a sudden, it has to be buildings.”

“You think it’s like last night? That,” Bill waved at the smoke column, “could be from another fight, couldn’t it?”

“We have no way to know. I hope not but that supermarket had a bunch of things in it people would be wanting right now pretty bad. We cannot be the only ones that realize this could last for a while. I just cannot believe people are getting this nuts, this quick, “said Dan, shaking his head.

The men tried to put those thoughts from their minds as they went back to work. Even so, they both made sure their weapons were loaded with rounds chambered. Dan set Bill to clearing some of the small limbs that blocked sections of the fence from easy view. He decided to make a crude early warning system by hanging various items from the fence that would make noise if someone climbed or cut it.

While in the house looking for cans, he took a minute to look at the perimeter from the observation post. In the daylight, it was easy to see how inadequate this room was for this purpose. Using this one window, only about 30% of the perimeter could be seen. Dan then went from window to window throughout the house noting all the areas that they had no views of. These were the first areas he placed his noisemakers. Also to these spots he added ‘trip wires’. For this he used several spoons of 10 gauge wire that Ned gave him from the shop. Even though these were easy to see in the daylight, they would be nearly invisible in the dark. Anyone trying to walk through them without light would end up on the ground. He and Bill filled the wheelbarrow with small scraps of steel from a barrel next to the saw. The cutoff wheel left a nearly razor sharp bur on most of these pieces. These improvised caltrops were scattered randomly near the fence and under the ‘trip wires’. More noise makers were added until Dan felt they had done all they could for the fence.

Dan guessed they had about two hours before they needed to mount a full guard. After another glace at the increasing cloud of smoke in the valley, he decided his time was best spent working on defenses.

If they did have to defend themselves against attackers at night, they needed some sort of force multiplier. Lacking the crew served weapons he wished for, he needed to come up with something.

As Dan talked the problem out to himself, Bill offered a suggestion. “What about those fire bombs like you see on TV? You know beer bottles with a burning rag stuffed in the top.”

“Molotov cocktails? Stuffing a rag into an open bottle of gas, lighting it on fire, and hoping the rag stays in long enough that it doesn’t spray YOU when you throw it is just dumb. A better way is to use a capped bottle with a rag tied to the outside; that way the gas stays inside until it breaks. I don’t think that is exactly what we want but that gives me an idea,” explained Dan.

Dan knew his mother hated rodents in all shapes and sizes. As such, Ann kept a supply of snap type rat traps on hand. These had done nothing to dent the local squirrel population despite the body count they accumulated. He quickly collected as many as he could and commandeered a corner of the shop. First, using a small coping saw, he cut a hole in the wooden base of the trap where the arm struck when tripped. He gradually enlarged this until an empty shotgun shell fit into it snugly. He then marked the exact spot where the primer and the arm met. At this point he bent a small point into the arm. Finally, he bent the bait pan so that it took a hard tug on the newly attached string to set the trap off. When he tested the trap, it neatly dented the primer. Dan then repeated the process, twice, with Bill copying him through each step. In an hour they had five devices constructed.

The men took five plastic buckets and secured these devices to the rims such that the loaded shells pointed into the buckets. They then poured about six inches of used motor oil into the bottom and mixed in several cups of gasoline from the 40:1 cans. A plastic one liter bottle was filled half way with more of the 40:1 gas.

Ned looked at the odd looking contraptions. It didn’t take him long to realize what they were. “You are one scary little man some days, you know that? I’m not sure if that oil will burn but a shotgun shell into a container of gas is gonna make a heck of a fireball. You really think we’ll need them?”

“I sure hope not,” said Dan. “If we do though, they’ll do the trick. We could make some napalm if need be...”

“Enough you psycho, lets get these things set out and get to the house,” Ned stopped him.

The fire buckets were placed in areas where fire would spread the least. This meant they were limited in sites where they didn’t pose an undo hazard. Two were placed in the driveway with their firing lines routed to the observation post window. A third was placed in the back yard and could be fired from the deck. The remaining two were emptied and set aside. When everyone was clear and on station in the house, Dan placed number 8 birdshot loads in each of the firebombs and armed them.

The group stayed at the windows until it was too dark to see. Bill volunteered to stand watch while the others ate and Janice offered to join him. Reminding them to stay sharp, the others sat down to a meal of hamburgers and roasted corn on the cob. Both had come from the freezer and been prepared on the barbeque. Dan ate quickly and let the two couples finish the meal together.

The Aurora activity continued for the third night. The eerie light reminded Dan of city lights on the belly of clouds. The water-like motion of the light cast weak shadows that wavered in the night.

The darkness hid the smoke from the burning shopping center but the air was tinged with the scent of fire. Dan was sure the ridgeline that separated this valley from the town’s was backlit by flames. April was still early for forest fires but in the steep mountains of Colorado, they were always a possibility. And with their location near the top of the mountain, fire would run to them like a lion on prey.

“How’re you doing?” Ned asked as he handed Dan a hot cup of coffee.

Taking the cup, Dan replied, “Thanks. I’m okay. We just have so much to do. Can you smell that? There’s a big fire in town and nobody to do anything about it. We need to get out of here. With only five of us…I just don’t know how we’re gonna manage. And I can’t help but think about Lynne and the kids; they are going through all this on their own.”

“She’s a smart girl and you guys were planning for something like this. Jessie will help out and Mikey’s a good kid. They’ll be okay.

“By this time tomorrow we should have two running vehicles. I’ve got the fuel system all back together and I’m almost done with the electrical stuff for the pickup. You know, the race car trailer will hold a lot of gear. I can beef up the cooling systems on the tow vehicles and we ought to be able to take it with,” said Ned.

Dan nodded. “There are a lot of things around here we should take if we can. You’ll need things right away but also things to help you start over. Once we get where we are going, you guys have to build a new life.”

“Yup, and we’ll do everything we can to help you get home,” the older man said, resting a hand on his son’s shoulder. “We drew up a schedule for watches over dinner. Since you were here already, we gave you the first two hours. I’d like to get the girls up here so you can tell us about these bucket things. After that, I need to hit the hay.”

Ned called down the stairs and the three others filed in. Dan gave a brief description of how the fire buckets worked and what they would do. He explained that they would result in a large area covered in flames and what that would do to a person’s night vision. Everyone agreed that they would only be used as a last resort.

The remainder of Dan’s watch was uneventful. Ann, who had stayed up hand stitching slings for the long guns, relieved him. She told him the girls had made a pallet up for him in the basement but if he got too cold that he should sleep on the couch again. Weary from the previous night’s long hours and the day’s work, he quickly fell asleep.

An hour before sunup, it was Bill that woke Dan. Everyone made their way to position that let them look out onto the yard. The quiet of the impending dawn had everyone’s nerves on edge. Then Ned, in the observation post with the window open as they had agreed, clicked his tongue.

Ann was the nearest person and the only one that heard his call. She moved as quietly as possible into the room with him. In a whisper he explained he had heard the sound of gravel crunching from the driveway but couldn’t see anything. They both listened, peering from the edges of the window. A scraping sound reached them moments later.

It was Ann that acted first. She happen to look away from the driveway in time to see the line attached to the fire bucket move where it crossed the windowsill. She brought the shotgun to her shoulder and sighted in the area of the nearest fire bucket. That was when she saw the intruder.

In the low light, it was a man crouched next to the device. Staring closely, she gently began to squeeze the trigger on the 12 gauge. Then she realized that wasn’t what she was seeing. Lowering the weapon, she nearly stopped four hearts when she yelled, “Getonoutathere!”

“Woman! What the Hell was that? What is wrong with you?” Ned boomed, all thoughts of keeping quiet gone.

Dan came running around the corner, weapon at the low ready. He scanned the room, took in Ann doubled over obviously laughing, could tell Ned was almost ready to explode, and looked out the window. He saw nothing amiss.

After responding that things were fine to Janice’s call, he turned to the now composed Ann and waited for an answer.

Taking a deep breath, she began, “Your dad heard something so he called me over. While I was standing here, we heard it again. I don’t know about him, but I was certain we were surrounded by blood thirsty hoodlums. I saw the cord for your bomb thing move and I was about to shoot the bandit out there messing with it. But that is exactly what it was, a bandit. I figured it would be better for us all if I yelled at the furry little ‘bandit’ instead of shooting that thing and blowing us all up. I guess raccoons like your new toy there.”
Dan started it. He hated the movie cliché but couldn’t help himself. And once he started laughing, Ned’s anger quickly turned to laughter as well. Soon all five adults were laughing hysterically, all thoughts of security gone. They laughed as the sun rose, bleeding a new day’s light into the world.

As was becoming the habit, conversation at breakfast outlined the tasks for the day.

“In another hour I’ll need help push starting the truck. After that, I’ll take a look at the Jeep,” began Ned. “What about you?”

“We need more water so I think Bill and I ought to start there. I really would like to put together an aid bag. Mom finished five slings last night so I want to get everyone set up with those. After that, I don’t know,” Dan replied.

“How about you guys get the trailer emptied? You can also work on getting the plow off the Blazer.”

“We’re going get more meat jerked, right Ann?” Janice said.

Ann said, “Yes. If you think we can take the trailer, I would like to start getting things boxed to travel with too.”

With that, the meal was finished. Ned went directly to the shop, Dan to get the supplies to redress Bill’s head, while Bill helped with the breakfast dishes.

When Dan was done with Bill’s head, the men went to the well. They took turns hauling dippers full of water from the bottom of the well. These were then emptied into a five gallon bucket. The bucket was then carried into the house. This slow laborious process continued until Ned interrupted, telling them he was ready to try the pickup.

They once again pushed the truck to the roadway. This time, Ned had installed a hose to pipe ether into the carburetor from a can in the cab. He hoped this would get the engine started and keep it running until he could make the necessary adjustments.

Ned popped the clutch when the truck was up to speed and the engine shuddered and stuttered itself to life. He quickly slipped it to neutral and threw a wheel chock in place. He scooped the tools he needed off the passenger seat and began to set the carburetor and timing. Though he nearly stalled the engine once, he soon had the engine running smoothly.

He brought the truck back to the shop and parked it next to the Blazer.

While Bill and Dan took a moment of rest, Ned explained, “Janice and I looked at a map last night and it looks like the ranch is about 65 miles away. It’s actually a fair bit south of Jefferson. I figure we ought to plan on it taking at least a day to get there if we can drive straight through. I’m not sure how long we’ll be able to drive in one go. The batteries won’t last but an hour or two and towing that heavy trailer is going to overheat these rigs. I want to install a second radiator into both of them. I’ll pull the high volume one from the race car and I’m sure one of these others will work too. We’ll be doing a bunch of jerry rigging bit I think we can make them last for 70 miles.

“That is why I want the plow off. It’s heavy and will cut down on airflow. I’m thinking about pulling the hoods off both trucks too. I’ve already pulled all the fuses, not that I needed to since most were fried anyway. Anything we can strip from the trucks and trailer will let us put that much more weight in the trailer.”

“Okay, let us finish with the water and then we’ll be back to help,” said Dan as he stood.

Bill and Dan spent the next two hours refilling buckets in the house. They had hoped to refill the hot tub but it didn’t take long to realize that wasn’t going to happen. They did fill one bathtub; they would surprise the others with the option of a bathetoday and the wash water could be used to flush the toilet.

Seeing they were finished moving water, Janice pointed to a tray of small loaves of flat bread on the counter, “Lunch is ready. Ann showed me how to make these pocket breads. We baked them in a couple pots and a Dutch oven. Be careful, they are filled with meat and they’ll be hot. Take this when you go back outside.”

Bill took the offered basket after Janice had put three of the loaves into it. She included three full water bottles and gave her husband a kiss as he left.

Ned agreed to stop working on the truck long enough to eat with Bill and Dan. They found the loaves to be filled with thick brown gravy full of small pieces of beef, canned mushrooms, and small onions. After biting into one Bill mumbled that they were pickled onions from his bar.

While they ate, Ned pointed out where he wanted the plow mounts cut away from the truck. Ned and Dan had completed many projects together so he knew Dan would have no problem using the oxy/acetylene cutting torch. He showed Bill how to use a pair of wrenches to remove hoses without damaging the fitting. He explained that he wanted the heavy duty wire braid hoses from the race car motor to replace what he could on the pickup.

None of them could eat more than half of the pan bread and the leftovers were set aside. Bill and Dan set to their tasks while Ned began removing the radiator from the race car. The three were so involved in their tasks they didn’t notice they had a visitor until he called out from the road.

“Hello? Is anyone there?” called the man from the fence.

Dan was the first one up as he dropped the tools in his hand. Though his hand went to his pistol, he did not draw it. He could hear the other extracting themselves from their jobs.

The man before Dan had the look of a typical Colorado hiker. He was in his mid-20’s and was dressed like an add for REI. He wore a large backpack and carried a wooden walking stick, but no weapons were apparent.

“Hi. I’m not looking for any trouble. I am just trying to get to my folks place up off Penny Road and was hoping I could get some water. You’re the first people I’ve seen since yesterday and my water ran out last night,” he explained.

“I think we can help. I just need you, real easy like, to drop that stick and pack. You do that and we’ll talk,” said Dan.

Ned had stepped up behind him and stood to his left. He was happy to see that Bill not only had his shotgun in hand, he had moved about 15 feet off to Dan’s right and held the weapon at the low ready.

“Yeah, no problem. I just want some water and I’ll be on my way,” the man said as he complied with Dan’s orders.

“Good. Go ahead and come through the gate. I’m going to pat you down real quick then we can talk like civilized people,” Dan said.

The man came into the yard and Dan checked him for weapons. Years on an ambulance had taught him the skill and he was quickly finished. When he was satisfied, he waved Bill over and handed the man a bottle of water. After drinking his fill, the man told his story.

“My name is Rob Mitchell. I’m going to school up in Fort Collins but I grew up here in Conifer. Anyway, a couple days ago I decided to go camping out by Deckers and when I got off work I started driving this way. I didn’t get out of town until late so I planned on driving to my parents place, sleeping for a few hours, and then continuing on. I do it all they time, they don’t mind. At like 0330, I was almost to Conifer when my car died. I coasted to the shoulder, tried to get it going again but since that didn’t work, I spent the night there. The next morning when nobody was on the road, I hoofed it into town. When I stopped at my old church, Reverend Fredricks was there. He told me the power and phones were out along with anything that ran on electricity. He offered to let me stay with him but I figured if I didn’t make it home before dark, I could pitch my tent on the side of the road. So I started walking. When I went by the shopping center in town I started getting scared. There were a lot of people just kinda milling around the store entrance. I guess the manager had locked the doors but people still wanted in. While I was watching, another group on horseback showed up and started yelling at the manager through the gates. That was when I got out of there. I was about half way up the other side of that ridge over there,” he said pointing to the east, “when I heard people shooting. Pretty soon I could see that the store was burning. I just kept moving this way and crested the hill just before dark. Last night I camped just off Tucker Road. I used the last of my water with my dinner last night. This morning I came down this side of the hill and have been working my way back up all morning.”

“Yeah, we saw the smoke,” said Bill. “How far is it to your parent’s house?”

“Oh not far now, just about five miles. I should make that later this afternoon. Do you think I could refill a water bottle or two? I’d really like to get moving,” Rob asked.

Bill looked at Ned who nodded slightly.

“Is it in your pack?” asked Bill.

“Yeah, I’ll grab it,” said the young man moving to stand.

“No.” Bill said, “I can see it on the belt, I’ll get it.”

“Cool man, thanks,” Rob said sitting back down. Dan smiled to himself.

Bill retrieved the bottle and went into the house. He came back several minutes later with the filled bottle and a newspaper bundle.

Handing them both to the traveler he said, “This is a little food for the road. It’s an extra and they don’t store well.”

Rob inhaled deeply. “Wow, this smells good, thanks again.”

And with that he stood and brushed the dirt from his pants. With the enthusiasm of youth, he shouldered his pack and was soon disappearing up the road.

Conscious that the time they spent talking was time they hadn’t been making any progress, the men got back to work.

Ned was soon finished with the first radiator and moved onto the second. This one didn’t require him to remove it so much as dig it out. He had to move several boxes of parts, an engine on a stand, and several tires, but he was rewarded with not one but two radiators.

Bill had finished removing hoses and was helping Dan. By the time the two had removed the plow and drug it out of the way, Ned had several items laid out on the bench. When Bill asked, Ned pointed out the pieces he would use to build brackets for the addition radiators. Neither would have fans for airflow but he felt they would operate fine without them. Everything would bolt into place with holes either being cut with the torch or punched if the material were thin enough. Bill offered his assistance and Ned accepted. Dan left the two men in the garage went into the house.

In the kitchen he was surprised by the absence of the kitchen stove. He located it, and the two intrepid inventors, in the back yard. Through the use of a dolly that lived in the garage, they had hauled it down the stairs, through the basement, and onto the back patio near the barbeque. They had then used a hatchet and chopped several long slits into the sheet metal between the broiler and the oven. On the table under the cover they had several bins and oddly enough, an old boot.

Janice was happy to explain the setup. “We wanted a way to dry more meat. Your mom came up with this. We are using coals from the big fireplace in the broiler pan, a few at a time, to keep the oven warm. We have plenty since we are keeping the fire going all the time. We have been hanging jerky from strings inside the oven and now we can do about 30% more than what we have been working in the house alone.”

Ann pointed a plastic bin. “This is the first batch that is totally dry. You could sharpen it like a knife if you wanted. It doesn’t taste half bad either. I think in a couple more days, especially after you guys bring Janice’s oven over here, we can get almost all the beef dried.”

Dan thanked them for their hard work and returned to the house. He dug through the bags they had found in the Sullivan’s garage. After discarding several, he settled on a large black backpack with ‘National Geographic’ embroidered in gold letters. A few minutes with a Sharpie and the lettering was virtually undetectable. He also found an older suitcase, the size people commonly carrier onto planes, in the garage. These he deposited on the kitchen table. Dan spent the next several minutes collecting all the first aid and medical supplies in the house and the vehicle first aid kits. When he finished, he had amassed a large pile.

The backpack was to be used as an aid bag. This meant it needed to have the things he would use to stabilize traumatic injuries and be able to be carried without hindering the use of his hands. Dan figured that if the bag was supplied to stop major bleeding, create an airway, and stabilize a gunshot long enough to get out of the situation, he would be set.

He began packing. He was only able to find three large bandages so he took a heavy terry cloth towel and cut it into six inch by six inch squares. These went into a one gallon ziplock bag. Three rolls of gauze and two Ace wraps went into their own bag. In one of the kits, he found three generic Israeli dressings which he placed in the outside pocket of the pack. The straw from a sipping-type water bottle was cut to six inches and a couple alcohol swabs, a few small bandages, and a roll of cloth tape followed. After he added the protected blade from a utility knife, he had an improvised cricothyrotomy kit. He cut a piece of a broom handle and wrapped several feet of cling wrap to it. To keep this from sticking to the items in the bag he wrapped it in a piece of cloth. He also cut six squares that were two feet each side from a piece of heavy muslin. Dan then located a piece of ¼ inch steel rod in Ned’s supplies. He cut four pieces roughly ten inches long. Each of the four rods was attached to a cloth square folded on the diagonal with a heavy rubber band. He placed two of these tourniquets in the outside pocket of the bag; the others were placed in a ziplock and put inside. Two of the first aid kits yielded CPR masks and he placed one and all the latex gloves he could find into the aid bag.
The show two nights previous and Rob’s story had Dan worried about gunfights. Knowing there was little he would be able to do but wanting to be prepared, he cut two seatbelts from the Suburban. He tied the ends of these pieces together and created a loop roughly 12 feet around. In a pinch, he could use this as a drag harness.

Wishing for more but accepting what he had, he moved onto the other bag. The rest of the bandages, dressings, and other medical supplies were packed into the suitcase as neatly as he could get them. He then packed the medications he had collected. This was a mixed lot that ranged from over the counter pain pills such as acetaminophen to partial bottles of unfinished prescriptions. There were various blood pressure pills, two partial bottles of antibiotics (despite his frequent remonstrations to finish antibiotics as ordered), and half a bottle of Vicodin. He emptied the toiletries bag he traveled with and began making an instrument kit. After checking with Ann, he collected several tweezers, nail clippers, small scissors, and some sort of eyelash tool that looked lethal from her makeup kit. Her craft supplies offered an Xacto knife set with two aluminum handles and two knitting needles. Dan was surprised and delighted to find curved needles in several sizes in her upholstery equipment. She also had silk embroidery floss that he happily took to use as suture material. The tools went into a pot of water, the sutures another. He quickly realized that the sutures would need to soak to get the dye out. He rinsed the floss in several changes of water then refilled it adding two capfuls of bleach. Janice showed him where he could put his instruments on to boil that wouldn’t interfere with the cooking. He rinsed a clean white pillow case in a weak bleach solution, wrung it out, and let it hang near the fireplace to dry. When the instruments had boiled for about twenty minutes, he drained the water. He then turned back to the suture material. Dan drained the chlorinated water and added fresh. This pot went on to boil. By the time that was completed, the heated metal of the instruments had evaporated the last of the water from the first pot. He gently dumped the instruments into the pillow case and rolled it closed. The suture material was boiled for twenty minutes and chlorine was added for the last few minutes. Once this came out of the water, it was placed into a small ziplock. The instruments and the suture were then all put into a two gallon ziplock and into the toiletries kit. He knew the items wouldn’t be sterile the next time he reached for them but it was the best he could do.

Dan finished with the medical stores and helped Ann and Janice wrap up outside. They all agreed that the remains of lunch would make a fine dinner so Dan went to the shop to collect them. He found Ned and Bill fitting the second radiator onto the pickup, the Blazer already completed.

“You two did that fast, I’m impressed,” said Dan.

Bill grinned, “I think it went well but you’ll have to ask The Boss.”

“Yeah, yeah it did. I think tomorrow we’ll be able to plumb them in and these horses will be ready to trot. What are you doing out here?” Ned asked.

Dan explained the plan for dinner and Bill and Ned agreed. They would get cleaned up and join the others to begin the evening watch.

[Nomad_Medic]

Seems to be protocol here to see if anyone wants this to continue.....

[FlashDaddy]

Starts a little slow but grabbed my attention good when he woke up on Day 2. I like the dual pull of helping the folks and needing to get back home. And the govt disappearing quietly with no warning of the inpending troubles is a real sinister setup.

I want MOAR! (please)

[Snapshot7.62]

I'm liking the story, moar please.

[Nomad_Medic]

The long days and interrupted nights were taking a toll on everyone. Dan hardly remembered the 100% watch or his shift early in the night. His deep slumber was interrupted by a hand shaking him in the dark. The basement was completely black but for the faint light that filtered in from the door to the back yard.

“Dan, wake up” Bill whispered. When Dan replied, Bill continued, “Janice saw something in the yard and she’s sure it was a person. Ned and Ann are up in the windows. What should we do?”

“Okay. We have no way to know how many of them are there or what they’re after. Right now, we better just keep an eye out. Go tell the others I’ll check doors then be up,” Dan replied.

After checking the doors on the lower levels, Dan joined Janice in the observation post. She explained that she was about an hour into her shift when she saw movement on the other side of the road. She had watched for several minutes then someone had shown themselves near the shop. She couldn’t see them clearly, only that it was a person moving slowly.

Everyone waited. Nothing moved and there were no sounds. After 20 minutes, Dan and Ned spoke.

“It’s going to be light in a few hours, you think we should wait?” asked Ned.

“Probably but I can’t help but think they could be setting up for an attack. The longer we sit here, the more time they have to get ready.” Taking a deep breath, Dan continued, “I can’t sit here and wait anymore. I’m going to take a look. If something happens, try not to shoot me.”

Ned simply nodded. Dan turned and made his way to each member of the group, telling them he was going to take a look around. When he told Bill, the other man grabbed his arm.

“I’m coming with you.”

Dan began, “Look Bill, that’s probably not…”

“My wife and baby are in here. I am coming,” he finished.

Dan realized Bill needed to do this, he just hoped it didn’t get anyone killed. He quickly updated the others. The two men conferred and made a plan to circle the house and work their way out from there. Dan told Bill to stay several feet behind him but to keep him in sight. They then slipped out the basement door, locking it behind them.

After the darkness of the basement, the light from the Auroras almost felt bright. Dan moved ahead of Bill, using his peripheral vision to scan the area. They moved slowly but without stopping towards the front of the house. When they got close to the main garage door, Dan heard the crunch of gravel under a foot. He motioned Bill to swing wide from the house and to flank the driveway. Bill nodded his understanding, and Dan, Sig in hand, waited. When he saw Bill was in a position to provide covering fire, he crept around the corner.

At first he couldn’t tell what he was seeing under the eve close to the house. Taking a step closer, he realized it was a rather wide butt. The man, who really needed a belt, was bent over a large pack untying an axe.

“That’s enough. Keep your hands where I can see them and turn around slowly,” Dan said in a loud voice.

The man unfolded himself and straightened. It was only then that Dan could appreciate how large the guy was. With his long duster style coat and bushy black beard, Dan saw Rubeus Hagrid, the half giant from the Harry Potter books, staring down at him. The man’s huge arms ended in meaty hands. In one he held the axe. Dan could tell that this was the sort of man that was used to intimidation his way through life, and usually got what he wanted.

“Drop it or die,” Dan snarled.

“You know what? I don’t think you and that plastic gun are gonna make me,” replied the giant.

Before Dan could say or do anything, the shick-shick of a shell being pumped into a chamber snapped through the air. The stillness of the night made it imposable to know exactly where the sound came from, just that it was somewhere to the man’s left.

The axe fell. “Okay. That’s cool. I just thought the place was empty. I was just looking for some water. I’m just gonna take my pack and go.” The big man stammered nervously.

“You’re going to walk reeeal slow to the other side of that road. Once I know you don’t have a gun in here, one of my men will drop this thing where we can see you pick it up. Then you are going to move out like you care about your life,” Dan ordered. “Now move.”

Dan covered the man until he was nearing the end of the driveway then called out, “Squad A, watch him. If he makes any sudden movements, ventilate him.”

Hoping Bill was the only one that realized ‘Squad A’ consisted solely of Bill, he quickly searched the man’s pack.

The contents made it clear where this man was going. There is only one use for five pounds of Sudafed; cooking methamphetamines. The bag also contained some clothes, a Balisong, two pornographic magazines, a half full water bottle, and a dozen Snickers bars. Dan closed the bag and threw it to the middle of the road.

“Get your stuff and get gone. If you’re seen here again, you’ll be put in a shallow grave, capish?” Dan growled.

“Yeah man, I’m not looking for any trouble,” he replied as he scooped up the bag and began walking up the road.

Dan and Bill remained in the shadows until the sky began to lighten with the coming dawn. When they could see each other clearly, Dan suggested they rejoin the others for the remainder of the morning watch. There was no more excitement.

Over breakfast the men filled the rest in on what had happen outside. When Dan thanked Bill for his timely intervention Bill simply shrugged. “You said it was the international sign to stop what you’re doing.”

“More to the point though, yesterday we had two strangers on foot.” Ned began, “We’ve got two working vehicles I’m not even going to waste time on the Jeep. Chances were pretty slim I could get it running and even if I do, we don’t have enough batteries to make it with three rigs. After Bill and I finish on those radiators, I’ll scavenge what I can off the Jeep and get the useless stuff out of the trailer.”

“Dad’s right, if we’re going, we need to get out soon. I’m not sure which will get here first, that fire or the MZB’s.” Dan agreed. “How’s the water situation?”

“That’s the second time I’ve heard you say that. What is an Emseabee?” Ann asked.

“Oh, sorry; it’s a term I picked up in my reading. In a lot of the collapse books, the antagonists are Mutants, Zombies, or Bikers. Thus the generic name for the bad guy: MZB.”

Ann nodded and explained they were set with water for the day but would need more the following morning.

Dan continued, “So how does this sound for today: Bill and Ned, you guys finish what you were doing and make sure the trucks are mechanically set. While you’re doing that, I’ll work on the trailer. Ladies, you have been making real headway with the food in here and we’d just screw up a good thing if we were underfoot. You stay at it and work on getting things in boxes, bags, and totes, to travel. As soon as we can, we should start loading to get gone.”

Everyone agreed to the plan. It was Janice that reminded them to keep a sharp eye out and a gun ready. They then dug into their tasks.

Bill and Ned bolted the simple radiator brackets to the front bumper of both the vehicles they would be taking. They cobbled together enough radiator hose to bridge the extra distance by splicing several pieces of hose together. A small piece of pipe was used at each joint so the hose clamps would have something to tighten against. High temperature form-a-gasket was slathered over the seams and the whole area was them wrapped with duct tape. This created a very strong, if incredibly ugly, length of hose. The radiators went in fairly quickly and they moved onto the Jeep. The roof rack was unloaded, quickly removed, and bolted onto the Blazer. The recovery tools were reloaded onto it as were the two spare tires for the Blazer. The high strength rope was pulled from the winch and stowed in the rack with the rest of the gear. They then loaded a box with several quarts of oil, antifreeze, a can of starting fluid, half the spare fan belts they had on hand, and two tubes of form-a-gasket, into each truck. Two small tool kits with a variety of wrenches, pliers, and other tools were assembled and loaded. They then loaded four batteries into each vehicle. When they were done, they joined Dan.

He had been busy as well. After lowering the rear ramp/door and opening the man-door, he had enough light inside the trailer to work. His first task had been to remove several race car tires and wheels. He then took out anything that wasn’t absolutely necessary. This included all the spare parts for the specialized engine in the race car, racing safety equipment, the electric and pneumatic tools Ned used exclusively at the track, and other miscellaneous detritus. He even tore out the empty cabinets to make more space.

Under Ned’s direction, the men wheeled the massive tool chest as close as they could to the trailer entrance. They then used the come-along to winch it inside where they secured it over the double axles. The next several hours were spent loading all of Ned’s hand tools. His supplies of nuts, bolts, clamps and fasteners came along as well. By lunch time, the shop was emptied of everything they would bring.

As they turned to go into the house, Ned pointed across the valley. Because they had been so focused on their jobs, none had noticed the chill in the air. Above the ridgeline, thick black clouds loomed. The flickering orange flames of the wildfire had crept half way down the mountain. They now stood out against the dark backdrop.

“That storm may be the only thing that has kept that fire off us so far. I’d bet if it wasn’t for all that smoke, we’d be smelling snow in the air,” Ned said, his face grim.

Just as grim, Dan replied, “You’re probably right. We have GOT to get out of here.”

When the men walked into the house, they were amazed. Ann and Janice had gone all out. They had fresh batches of meat hanging above the fireplace and in the back yard. The living room floor was covered with boxes containing all the dried and canned food in the house. The remaining bottled water was stacked to one side along with a couple large totes. All this and neither woman was to be seen.

A quick check found them in the basement. What just hours ago had been heaps of sewing supplies was now packed away into boxes and the remaining totes. The soft goods, including all the fabric that hadn’t fit in boxes, now filled several large trash bags. Each was tied shut and labeled with a piece of tape. The women had packed 75% of the house in just one morning.

Ned grilled several of the thawed steaks for lunch. Two cans of corn and some noodles completed the simple meal. Everyone appreciated the need to hurry and none complained about working while they ate.

At Ann’s direction, boxes were loaded to travel. The bulk of the food was put into the trailer, but she kept two totes apart. One of these was loaded into each vehicle as food for the road. Sleeping bags, tents, clothing, and everything else that might be needed for the road were placed in the trucks.

The group worked through the afternoon. By evening everything was loaded and ready, save the weapons and about half the ammunition.

The evening meal was leftovers and conversation. Last minute ideas we discussed and plans were made to depart the following morning before lunch time.

“Here’s how I see this going,” began Ned, “We can only travel during daylight but I’m hoping to get there in two or three days max. During the day, we need to keep one of the trucks running at all times to push start the other. That means we’ll be hooking and unhooking the Blazer from the trailer. I sure wish we had CBs or some way to communicate.”

Bill suggested, “What about some sort of signal between the vehicles, you know like flags or something?”

“You mean something like semaphores, which could work. We only need a few commands, like ‘Stop’, ‘Danger’, ‘People Ahead’, stuff like that. We could keep it really simple and just used color combos the passengers could watch for.” Dan added.

“Good. Dan you and your Ma figure something out after dinner. We’ll start with me and the girls in the Blazer. I think it would be best for you two fellas to be together in the truck. We can shuffle around a bit after we get going.

“This trip is going to be tough on the vehicles. The Blazer is newer, heavier, and has the best breaks so it will be the tow vehicle. We’re going to have to crawl up the hills and that is when we chance overheating. On the way down, that trailer is going to do it’s best to push us off the road. Once we get off the mountain and hit the highway, we’ve got pretty minimal ups and downs until we drop over for Shaffer’s Crossing. That is going to be a hairy five mile ride but we’ll need the speed to make it up the other side. When we get to the top on this side, I want you guys to shoot down and check the road. When you get back and let us know it’s clear, I’ll go down and the girls will ride with you. I’m going to go balls out to make it up the other side,” Ned continued.

“We have two more major downhill rides: Crow Hill before Bailey and then Kenosha Pass. They both have their tricky points. Crow Hill ends in a sharp right hand turn straight into town. If we take that too fast, if there are vehicles in the way, if we’ve smoked the brakes too bad on that long run, we’ll be in trouble. Kenosha shouldn’t be as bad; it’s another long one but the curves are gentler and we’ll have several miles with a straight runout on the other end. In neither case will you be able to scout ahead; it’s just too far and we won’t be able to see you from the top. I may regret this but here is what I’m thinking. On those big hills, we’ll use the pickup as an anchor. That rope off the winch has a tensile strength of over a ton. By shifting the truck into 4 low in first gear and pampering the brakes, we should be able to survive the ride.”

“If that’s our best chance of getting to James’ ranch, then that is what we need to do,” said Janice firmly.

Dan shrugged. “It’s not the worst idea I’ve ever heard and it sounds better than anything I have….”

Ann and Bill both nodded their approval. Neither looked confident but they all realized that getting to the ranch would require risks.

“We need to keep long guns where everyone can get at them,” Dan went on. “I think both the SKSs’ in the Blazer and the Sig and a shotgun in the pickup. If worse comes to worse, the Blazer will be able to field two shooters to the one in the pickup. If, heaven forbid, we get into a firefight, we need to keep moving. Do not stop. We’ll have to stop for some things but no way if bullets are flying. I can’t tell you much about gun fighting. If we are being shot at, don’t try for precision shots; fall back on the tried and true ‘Spray and Pray’. It really is up to the drivers here. Oh, and don’t shoot through the windshield. What Hollywood doesn’t show it that a bullet going out through laminated glass at 3,000 feet per second splatters the inside with glass splinters moving almost as fast. We all should have handguns available too. I wish we had holsters but we’ll just have to make do. Anyway, the handguns are for if we are forced to dismount and run the long guns dry. In that case, remember that the safest place is with something big and heavy between you and the bad guy. That means the engine. Don’t stay right up against the vehicle if you can safely get back. An arm’s length or so will keep the ricochets and fragments from tearing you up too bad. Now let’s just hope this is all scary talk.”

After a few moments digesting that information, Ann began, “We packed things so three people could live out of each tote for about a week. It’s all cold meals but if we can make a fire or use the stove it’ll taste better. That should be more than enough for the trip. We were short a couple sleeping bags but made up for it with blankets. There are only two tents but we didn’t figure it would be a big deal. Janice and I packed for Bill and Ned but Dan, you’ll need to get your clothes together.”

“Thanks. Thank you all for taking us in and doing,” Bill waved his hand around, “all this. Tomorrow I think Janice and I would like to walk through our house one last time before we leave.”

“Everyone should get a little familiarization time with the guns too. Just to make sure we all have a basic idea,” said Dan.

“That reminds me,” Ann said as she walked into the living room. She returned and offered something to Dan. It was the remains of the leather cowboy boot he had seen the day before. The upper portion had been cut away, as had the toe. This left the sole and the part that covered the top of the foot. The heel had been removed and a belt loop put in its place.

“It’s ugly but not as ugly as that duct tape monstrosity you’ve been using to hold your pistol. Check to see how it fits.” Ann instructed. Dan did as he was told and found that it held the weapon secure and didn’t cause it to hang up when he drew it. “They are easy to make so tomorrow morning I’ll throw together one for the rest of the pistols,” Ann finished.

The meal wrapped up and the weary group began their evening watch.

[Nomad_Medic]

Everyone was tense throughout the night. The flickering lights of the ever present Aurora were mirrored by the encroaching wildfire. Erratic winds swirled through the valley casting embers high into the sky. Even inside their beds, the increasing smell of smoke provided a constant reminder that there were greater threats than two-legged prowlers.

Of those, none were seen. At one point Ned could have sworn he heard hushed voices and a child’s cry, but he never caught sight of anyone. If people were on the move that night, it wasn’t near the Lexington house.

The morning’s stand to was held under a hazy sky. The air was brisk but what at first looked like frost was actually ash. It served as another reminder that it was time to get moving.

Breakfast was a reserved meal. They ate in near silence, each lost in their own thoughts.
Maybe because this move meant getting closer to home rather than away, Dan was the first to speak.

“Why don’t you guys take a bit and go through the house one last time, all of you? I can finish loading the ammunition and top off the water. When you’re ready, come find me so we can go over the guns again.”
Both couples nodded and smiled their thanks. They paired off and drifted away to share some private time and say goodbye to the places they had called home.

Dan used the dolly that had been left for the purpose to wheel a load of ammunition to the place reserved for it in the trailer. After stacking it and closing the doors, he pulled his worn wallet from his bag in the truck. He took out a picture he had literally carried around the world. Lynne’s face, caught in a laugh, looked past him. She had Mikey in her arms and Jessica was smiling as she splashed water at the two of them. Dan had snapped the picture during a trip to the frigid Oregon coast the summer before. He spoke to it now as he had often done.

“Oh baby, I hope we’re doing the right thing. There’s so much that could happen between here and that ranch. But we can’t stay and it’s not like we can just dump this stuff and hoof it. Hannah, and for that matter Mom and Dad, just couldn’t handle that kind of trip. I know you’re doing okay out there; I just hope you know how much I love you and that I’m gonna get home to you.”

It took him three more loads but he was soon finished stowing the ammunition. The dolly was tucked in alongside the bullets to be used while unloading. He gathered the remaining food in the kitchen and filled two pots with water. To these he added the last few pieces of beef from the freezer. He figured that these, along with the rolls the girls had cooked yesterday afternoon (where did they find the time, he wondered), would make a good lunch.

He was finishing with the food when Ned and Ann joined him. It was obvious they had both shed some tears but they were composed and ready now. He and Ann discussed signal flags and used parts of curtains and clothing that wasn’t being taken along to make two sets. They then drew up a key for each one. He was taping the second one to the dash of the Blazer when Bill and Janice returned.

The group met up in the living room. There Dan explained how to load the SKSs from the striper clips and had everyone practice several times. While they practiced, they removed a round from each stripper clip. Pressing nine into the attached magazine was much easier that ten. They also went through the Sig and the shotgun. They wouldn’t set any records but everyone could operate the weapons effectively.

The weapons were loaded into the vehicles and they were ready to go. Janice asked if the others would join her in a prayer. None of them were very religious but it felt right and they shared a moment with their heads bowed asking for protection and safety. With murmured Amen’s, they were ready.

There was a tense moment when they tried to push the pickup to get it started. Even though they had parked it in the most sloped part of the driveway, the added gear made it hard to move. But with all five pushing they were able to get it moving and it picked up speed as Ned turned it into the road. He had nearly disappeared from sight when they saw the truck lurch then start. He quickly wheeled it around and used it to push the Blazer until it was rolling enough for Dan to pop the clutch and start the engine.

Dan quickly brought it back where Ned guided him to the trailer. There was another second of worry when they lowered it onto the hitch and they saw how low the rear end of the Blazer dipped. It didn’t bottom out the springs so they hoped it would last for the journey. As an afterthought, Ned quickly went to the stack of 6x6 blocks he used as wheel chocks and hastily wired a block over the rear axle under each side of the frame. He explained that this should keep the trailer from compressing the leaf springs to the point that they snapped. It would make for a rough ride but that was just another hardship that had to be dealt with.

Their route off the mountain would take them over the ridge, dropping them off the back side. This would allow them to avoid the most populated part of Conifer. As they turned left onto the road, Dan could have sworn he saw flames in the rear view mirror.

Dan went first with Bill guiding him along the back roads of the mountain. Both men were alert for anything that seems unusual. They watched all directions at once, checking the mirrors often. The vehicles couldn’t get very far apart without losing sight of each other on the windy mountain road.

There was little of note as they made their way through the subdivisions towards Highway 285. For the first several miles, the occasional trickle of smoke from a chimney was the only sign of other people. Once, they saw a man putting a saddle onto a horse tied to a fence. He watched the vehicles move past, his hand poised near a rifle in a scabbard. He nodded stoically as the group passed and resumed his own preparations.

“Can you see that?” Dan asked, jerking his thumb behind him.

Bill turned and looked through the rear window. The road had brought them to the valley floor. High on the north wall of the valley, a huge bonfire blazed in an open field. People could be seen circling it erratically. Even from this distance, Bill could see many of them had rifles.

“That’s the skinhead place, right?” said Bill. “Think we need to worry?”

Dan shook his head. “At this point, I doubt they have anything to catch us with. I’m just glad we didn’t have to drive past them to get out.”

They reached the intersection to the highway a minute later. They had agreed to make a quick check of things after this first leg and Ned pulled the Blazer alongside the pickup. The vehicles were left running as everyone got out and walked around the caravan. Any loose straps or edges were secured while Ned looked over the trucks one more time.

The air smelled thickly of hot brakes. Dan asked Ned how the Blazer had done on their first long decline of the trip.

“That trailer is heavy all right,” Ned began. “It was pushing pretty good in places but this ol’ girl slowed her enough. Gonna be tough in spots though. You need to use the clutch more and the brakes less. Let the engine slow you down. In fact, you can probably shut the engine down and save battery on these longer downhills. Just keep it in gear. Let’s get moving.”

Everyone loaded back into the vehicles and they moved out again. It took some trial and error but they found they could travel at a steady 35mph and not have to brake much or work the accelerator too hard.

They had gone a few miles when Janice said, “I’m amazed that there are no cars around. You’d think whatever fried our cars at the house would have done the same to cars on the road.”

“This thing happen in the middle of the night. I imagine we won’t see many stalls, maybe a big rig or two. There were cars dying on the roads down in the city but outside of holidays, we never have much traffic this far up. I’d bet the tow trucks were pretty busy the day before everything knocked out,” explained Ned

They had no sooner settled into a routine than the sign announcing “Shaffer’s Crossing 2 miles ahead” appeared.

Bill pointed out the window to the sign as they passed then flew the ‘Scouting ahead’ flag. When Ann acknowledged from the Blazer, Dan moved the truck ahead.

The pickup quickly picked up speed. From the top of the hill to the bottom was about two miles and another three to the crest of the ridge on the south side. Dan used the brakes to slow them as they rounded the bend as it opened onto a view across the valley. A pall of smoke hung in the still air, its source almost directly across from where they were.

Bill looked at Dan who shrugged. The raced past the faded sign for the ‘Rainbow Ranch Trout Ranch’ at the bottom of the draw and hurtled up the opposite side. Just before reaching the top of the hill, it became clear what the smoke was from.

The Elk Creek Elementary School looked to have been turned into some sort of shelter. People milled around in the parking lot tending several camp fires. A large tent had been setup near the gymnasium but the men couldn’t see what was happening there.

As the pickup roared up the hill, people began waving and shouting. Soon they were streaming out of the building and running towards the road.

“Oh crap!” Bill exclaimed as he saw the swarm moving their way.

“Nicely put,” said Dan as he quickly slowed, then sawed the wheel to the left. The truck moved across the four traffic lanes and then they were accelerating back the way they had come.

They reached the Blazer a few minutes later. Dan had a moment of panic when he saw the hood raised but was happy to see everyone had dismounted armed. He made a quick three point turn and pulled up next to the Blazer.

“Shut it off and save the battery,” Ned yelled. “We’re on enough of a decline to start them.”

Ned explained why the Blazer’s hood was open as he popped the hood of the pickup. He simply wanted to dissipate heat quickly while they were stopped. When he finished, it was Dan’s turn to explain what lay ahead.

“This shouldn’t be a problem as long as we can keep moving. We’ve made it about half way to Bailey so we should be good to make Crow Hill before dark. If we camp at the top and start at first light we can pass through Bailey good and early. We should avoid most people that way.” Ned said when Dan had finished. “Let’s swap out batteries now; Murphy’s Law says they’ll die in front of that school if we don’t.”

The switch was made quickly. Dan suggested that a shotgun loaded with buckshot was prepped for the passengers. He figured the thunderous booms they made would be enough to keep the refuges at bay if they tried to rush the vehicles.

While he wanted to scout down the hill to the bend to see it the camp had quieted, Dan realized that there was no practical way to do so. It was nearly a mile from where they had parked to the first point he could get any view of what was happening at the camp. Covering the two miles on foot would use up too much daylight to be worth it.

Ned refused to allow the girls to ride with him or to let Dan attach a tow rope to the front of the Blazer in order to help it up the hill.

“If I get into trouble with the folks at that camp, I want you guys to keep going,” he insisted.

“There is no way that is going to happen. I’ll head for the top of the hill, drop Hannah, Janice, Mom and Bill to watch over them, and come back for you if it comes to that,” Dan replied. The other three voiced their agreement so Ned reluctantly agreed.

Hannah’s car seat was strapped into the middle of the pickup using a ratchet strap to improvise a seatbelt. She was secured tightly and with a full belly was fast asleep in no time.

Dan coasted for 20 feet and pop started the truck. The roar of the engine startled him after the silence of the mountains.

He swung back around and the rest loaded up. It quickly became apparent that they couldn’t all fit into the cab so Janice and Bill climbed onto the supplies stacked into the back. Dan passed the Sig to Bill and quietly whispered “If you have to use this, no warning shot.” Bill nodded slightly.

[Samson101]

I must of read this story wherever you ahd it posted before, good story, keep going

[Nomad_Medic]

The Blazer began to roll down the hill. A lurch and stutter a moment later showed everyone in the pickup that the engine was running. Ned and the trailer began to build momentum and they were committed.

Dan glanced through the rear window and saw that Bill and Janice had tucked themselves into the supplies. Ann was collecting the few loose items that were strewn around the cab and dropping them behind the seat.

The vehicles quickly picked up speed and were soon rounding the bend. Not surprisingly, little had changed in the time since the men had passed through the first time. A slight breeze had come up and the smoke column from the encampment leaned lazily away from the road.

From their vantage point about 100 yards behind the trailer, it looked as though Ned was easily controlling his vehicle. The nose of the trailer dipped as the decline became an incline and the Blazer began to lose speed almost immediately.

“We’re going around him,” said Dan, as much to himself as to Ann.

The pickup easily overtook the other rig. Ned nodded to them as they passed him, a determined look on his face.

He could see ahead people had started to running towards the road from the refugee camp. It looked as though one man was ahead of the others and he looked to be waving the others back off the road.

The distance between the Blazer and pickup grew almost as quickly as the space between the truck and the man in the road shrank.

“He’s not going fast enough,” said Dan, watching the Blazer in a side mirror. “He’ll be moving at walking pace by the time he passes the school.”

“I don’t think that deputy is gonna let him do that.” Ann replied, pointing out the front window.

Ahead the man had indeed resolved into a Park County Sheriff’s Deputy. He had succeeded in keeping the mob from flooding out onto the road but just barely. They crowded the far shoulder, watching the approaching vehicles.

For his part, the Deputy looked to be cool and collected. He had not drawn his weapon but his right hand hovered near his pistol. His left was held up, palm facing the truck as he stepped into the middle of the road.

“We have to stop. Even if we get past him, Dad never will.” Dan said as he lifted his foot from the accelerator. “I just hope Dad keeps going when he see’s us stop.”

The truck was nearly 200 yards downhill from the Deputy when Dan stopped.

“We need to be REALLY careful here. Bill, Janice, you need to stay below the level of the cab but I want you to keep your weapons trained on that crowd up there. Mom, get that pistol out and put it in your lap. Take mine too. Keep them low but don’t try to hide them if he walks up to the truck. We’re not letting him or anyone else take our things, we need these if we want to live.”

As Dan crept forward, he noticed the temperature gauge had moved several degrees higher. Whatever they were going to do, they needed to do it quickly or they would be stuck there.

At about one hundred yards from the Deputy, Dan again stopped. Knowing they were outside the range of most people’s shooting ability with a handgun offered him small comfort though he had no idea what lurked in the crowd.

“Officer, we are passing through and are not looking for any trouble. We just want to get to my brother’s house on the other side of Bailey.” Dan yelled.

“I don’t think that’s going to work. None of our vehicles are working so I’m going to need yours. The county will make it up to you. Now, if you’ll pull into the school, we can talk this all thro…” The Deputy was cut short by three blasts in quick succession.

The first bullet struck the officer in his right hip, spinning him 90 degrees away from the school. This profiled the man so as the second two rounds entered the man’s back and exploded out his chest, it was obvious to those in the truck that the shots had come from the crowd.

“Red shirt! Red shirt!” Bill screamed as he began firing in the direction of the now scattering refugees.

Dan could see puffs of dust as the rounds struck high on the bank above the panicking crowd. He could only hope this was Bill’s intent and not the result of his nerves.

It was at that point that Ned rumbled up behind them. All momentum from the downhill run was long gone and the Blazer was struggling for every inch it gained.

“Wave him on! Wave him on!” Dan screamed as he snatched his pistol from Ann.

More shots rang out from up the hill. Dan quickly realized that Bill’s screams were identifying the aggressor, a bear of a man in a red flannel shirt. He stood with his feet spread and a rifle to his shoulder, aiming their direction. By the time Dan saw him, the rest of the crowd had evaporated back towards the school and Bill’s rounds began striking closer to the assailant.

Red Shirt had run through a magazine and brought the weapon vertical to remove the spent one. Dan could tell the man, A. Didn’t know anything about tactical reloading, B. Was the only one shooting at them, and C. Was having trouble getting a fresh magazine into his weapon.

Dan gritted his teeth and he pressed the accelerator. The pickup hesitated them began moving up hill, picking up speed as it climbed.

The crack, crack, of the Sig continued at a steady pace. Soon, explosions from the opposite side of the truck told Dan that Janice and her 12 gauge had joined the fight. Through the best kind of luck, her third shot struck the ground six feet in front of the man. The eight pieces of flying steel hit the concrete of the highway and angled directly into the man who was still struggling to reload.

The effect was instantaneous. One moment he was a threat, the next he lay unmoving on the ground.

Dan brought the truck to a stop between the two victims. He yelled at Bill to cover Red Shirt as he jumped from the cab and ran to the Deputy. It took only seconds to confirm what he already knew, that the officer was dead. He quickly jogged to the other man.

He didn’t need to check for signs of life; the man was clearly done terrorizing others. The steel pellets, each over ¼ an inch in size, had peppered the man from his sternum up. At least two had entered his face and exited through the top of his skull. Dan would later think that the man had died quicker than he deserved, but at the time he was just happy it was all over.

Dan picked up the man’s rifle; it was a heavily abused AR-10. A quick look showed him that the magazine release had jammed due to the thick coat of dirt and grease that covered all the internal parts.

Wanting to get moving before the mob regrouped, Dan quickly ‘shotgunned’ the AR and removed the bolt. He threw the receiver to the opposite side of the road and pitched the bolt into the weeds. While it wouldn’t be too hard to put back in use, by the time anyone did, he and his group would be long gone.

He once again jogged back to the slain officer. He removed the man’s sidearm and magazines. Not being familiar with the S&W 4006, he simply shucked the .40 caliber rounds to the ground and threw the weapon and magazines in opposite directions.

By this time, Ned and the trailer were nearly to the top of the hill. Dan jumped back into the cab and dropped the truck back into gear. The temperature gauge hovered in the red and slowly began to climb as they slowly moved uphill.

Dan split his attention between the mirrors and the temperature gauge. The crowd behind him had slowly wandered into the road but they did little but gawk at the bodies in front of them and stare at the departing vehicles.

Ned crested the hill just before Dan did. By that time, steam was jetting from two places in the cobbled together cooling system in the Blazer and the temperature gauge in the pickup was pegged to the stop.

Ned waved Dan up beside him. When they came abreast and were moving slowly over the nearly level ground, he called out. “We need to stop at the next downhill and cool these things off. Just past the Pine Junction cutoff, the road dives down. Stop there.”

Ann, on the side closer to her husband, gave him a thumbs up and relayed the plan to Dan. The pickup accelerated about 30 feet ahead and slowed.

The increased speed allowed more air to flow through the radiators and the temperature in the pickup began to decrease. It wasn’t the same for Ned in the Blazer. They had gone two miles when one of the hoses burst and Ned quickly came to a stop.

[akraven]

Great story so far!

[Nomad_Medic]

Dan saw the hose go and turned around. After a little bit of jockeying the pickup was once again faced down the slight grade they had been traveling on.

As soon as he stopped Dan’s first priority was to check everyone for injuries from the gun battle. He wasn’t surprised to find everyone hail and healthy, but their mental states did catch him off guard. None of these people had seen a body outside a funeral home or hospital and he expected them to be much more shaken up after the events at the refugee camp. It was obvious Janice had been crying but she was composed and even dismounted with her shotgun. She quickly picked Hannah up and cradled the baby. Bill looked almost angry when he scanned the road and trees in the area and Ann was retrieving ammunition to reload what they had used.

“So, now what?” Dan asked of Ned.

“Well, first this beast needs to cool down then we can patch hoses. It looks like it blew at the inlet side of that add-on radiator so it should be an easy fix.” Ned replied. “Somebody want to fill me in on what happen back there?”

Bill began to explain what had happen. As he went along, the others added their parts until a clear picture emerged.

Bill had pinpointed Red Shirt almost as soon as he fired on the Deputy. The man had been in the middle of the crowd and Bill wasn’t willing to fire into the group. He had intentionally fired high trying to spook the man or possibly the crowd. Janice admitted that she had forgotten the safety on the shotgun so she didn’t start firing until almost the time the man ran dry. She rubbed her bruised shoulder as she explained that her last shot had gone off before she had seated the gun in place. Dan didn’t go into details but told her that shot had probably saved their lives. When Ned asked what he had done with the firearms, Dan explained he wasn’t willing to take them from men whose bodies had just begun to assume room temperature, and that he had disabled them before they left.

As they finished talking, the reality of what had just happened sank in. Janice began to shake and Bill took his wife and child in his arms. They walked to the side of the road and spoke in low tones.

“You okay there Ma?” Ned asked his wife.

“I…I’m sorry son,” Ann stammered on the verge of tears, “I couldn’t help you. I was just thinking about Hannah so I covered her up. I just lay over the top of her.”

“It’s okay Mom. That’s the very best thing you could have done. None of this would have been worth it if that baby got hurt.” Dan said as Ned enveloped his wife in his arms.

Dan stepped back, leaving the two couples to be together. He once again thought of Lynne and his own family. Whatever it took, he would get back to them.

They had reloaded the weapons and magazines by the time the radiator cooled enough to work on. They found that one of the mounts had also begun to work itself loose. By the time they had fixed this as well as the leaks, dusk was approaching. They decided they would make camp where they were.

The road ran straight behind them where it had been cut into the hillside. This meant that anyone approaching from the direction they had come from would have to do so via the roadway. About two hundred feet in front of them, the road turned to the right and the hillside blocked their view of the road ahead.

After they had made camp for the evening, which primarily meant setting up a tent for each couple between the vehicles, Dan decided to take a look around the bend. Taking the Sig and his ever present sidearm, he made his way up the road and soon disappeared around the corner.

Bill, Ned, and Ann were deciding whether or not to go looking for him an hour later when he reappeared from the growing dusk.

“The road looks clear ahead,” said Dan. “I was watching the slope and there is nothing moving out there.”

“Good to know.” Ned said as he handed Dan his dinner for the night. They had agreed to use some of the canned goods during the trip because they were easy to prepare. While Dan was out scouting, Ann had warmed canned soup on the Coleman stove. To this she had cut up several pieces of beef that had been cooked before they left home and served it with a hunk of bread. They would be eating a light breakfast so the evening meals had been planned large.

They set a watch schedule and retired for the night. Dan laid his sleeping bag across the bench seat in the pickup as was quickly asleep. Bill woke him a couple hours before dawn for his swing. Dan let everyone sleep until the daylight woke them.

They broke camp and the pickup was soon running. The gentle grade they had stopped on wasn’t enough to get the trailer and Blazer rolling. Instead of unhooking the Blazer as planned, they tried a suggestion Janice put forth. Bill, now behind the wheel of the pickup, gently nudged the trailer. Once the inertia was overcome, the Blazer and trailer quickly built up speed and Ned soon had it running. They resumed the driving order of the day before and were soon on their way.

Their worry over descending Crow Hill had been unfounded. While both vehicles smelled of hot brakes and unhappy clutches by the time they reached the bottom, the ride down the hill was unremarkable.

Passing through Bailey early in the morning proved to be an excellent plan. The only signs of life they saw as the passed through the hamlet was smoke curling from the roofs of several houses. A mist hung in the cool morning air, hugging the valley floor and muffling the sound of their passing.

Likewise, the rest of the day went smooth. They kept their speeds as high as they could without making the temperatures spike. While this was pace averaged less than 20 miles per hour, the miles slid by and the vehicles performed well. They stopped late in the morning when the Blazer began to stutter as the battery died. They were able to change out both batteries on a steep downhill grade and get rolling again after a quick meal.

It was only a few hours later that they approached Kenosha Pass. Dan signaled that he was stopping and they pulled over into the large turnout at the top of the hill. They stopped about 30 feet from a tractor/trailer with the red and white True-Value logo on its side.

The pullout was pretty level but across the road a Forest Service access road descended down to the highway. After a quick conversation, they decided to park the rigs far enough up the hill to use momentum to start them and they would swap tow vehicles for the last leg of the trip the following morning. The trailer would be unhooked and left in the turnout. It was a risk as they would only have the light from the Auroras to guard the trailer by but they were confident they would know if it was being molested. The rigs and thus the camp would only be a couple hundred feet from the trailer.

As Ned and Dan finished unhooking the trailer, the door of the semi opened. A wiry man in his 30’s wearing jeans, a ball cap, and a Carhartt’s shirt stepped down. He had a holstered pistol on his hip and a smile on his face. He deliberately closed the door behind him, keeping his hand well away from his waist.

“Howdy,” he called. “I’m Fred Campbell, mind if I come over so we can talk a bit?”

Ned glanced at Dan and nodded. Turning his head, he saw Bill walking their way with an SKS in his hands.

“Sure friend, you by yourself out here?” Dan answered.

“Just me ‘n Festus, my dog. He’s up in the cab of the truck. You can take a look it you’d like, he won’t bite,” Fred replied, by now only a few feet from Dan and Ned.

Bill had heard the exchange and made his way to the semi. When he opened the door, the Jack Russell bounded out with characteristic energy, spun in a circle twice, and ran full tilt to the trucker.

As only dogs can, Festus’s antics made everyone relax a notch. By the time Bill reported that the cab was indeed empty, Ann had joined the group. Handshakes and introductions were made all around and Fred told his story. Janice and Hannah walked up just as he began.

“About a week ago, I was making my run to the stores I service out this way. I make this run from the hub down in Denver twice a week. I usually load out in town, hit a couple stores along 285, and stop here for my lunch. Well, that day the truck was acting up on me and I didn’t get out of town until late. I was able to get to my stores in town and drove most of the night so I could stock the store in Alama first thing in the morning; I was hoping to make up a little time. Anyway, I made it here around two or three in the morning. I was outside with Festus while he was doing his business, watching them lights in the sky, when the truck shut down. I’ve been tinkering with her on and off for the last few days but she’s not going anywhere. Well anyway, it’s still early enough in the year that I could get snowed in somewhere so I had plenty of my “Got stuck” stuff in the sleeper. After two days of not seeing any traffic on the highway, I figured something big was up. I’ve been eating off what I had and Festus caught a rabbit so we had barbeque one night. Oh, and I managed to coax a couple fish out that pond a little ways back. You folks are the first people I’ve seen in a week and, no offense, you’re not making me feel all warm and fuzzy,” he said, nodding at the weapons.

Ned took the lead in explaining who they were, what they had seen, and what they thought had happen. He concluded by saying they were trying to get to his brother’s house on the other side of Fairplay.

“Yeah, I’ve got a… brother I’d like to see if I can hook up with myself.” Fred said with a knowing smile. “That about sets it then. I have been kicking the idea of hiking The Colorado Trail around for years, that’s part of the reason I stop here. You see, it crosses the road just up there a ways. My brother’s place is out near Telluride and The Trail just so happens to pass through that area. Its April now and I figure if I don’t get caught in a storm or starve, I should be able to make it there before winter hits. Festus and I have been talking about it for a couple days and he just about had me convinced we should do it. Since you folks are telling me the chance of the cavalry riding in to save the day is pretty slim, I think we will.”

The group sat in silence for a moment and then Ned asked, “Telluride? Isn’t that a ways to be walking?”

With a nod, Fred answered, “Yup, it’ll be a walk alright. The guide book puts it at about 350 miles over some pretty rugged terrain to the jump off point, then I figure another 30 or so to the place I’m going. But even if I’m doing less than 10 miles a day, I’ll get there before the fall.

“Festus and I were getting ready to go see if we were having fish when you folks pulled in. I’m gonna head down there, you’re welcome to join me if you like. Um, you ladies might be a little more comfortable if you stay here. My fishing technique might, err, offend some folks.”

Ned said he and the girls would set camp up. Bill chose to use the opportunity to spend time with his wife, even if they were working, but Dan agreed to join Fred on the fishing expedition.

They followed a small path through the back of the turnout for about a quarter of a mile to the small pond that could easily be seen from the road. The edges and shaded areas still carried a thin layer of ice but the middle was clear. Festus roamed around them, exploring the high grass.

Fred led them around the shore until he came to an area that had obviously been used recently. The grass was trampled down and few pieces of discarded fishing line lay in the mud. One side of the artificial clearing contained an inflatable inner tube, the kind boaters pulled kids on with speedboats, and a large plastic tote. Both looked brand new.

When Fred saw Dan’s curious look, he explained, “They’re from my rig. That trailer is ‘bout ¾ full of all kinds of useful stuff. Somewhere around day two, I decided I’d use what I needed and pay for it if things sorted themselves out. In fact, that stuff I found in there is why I’m even able to fish. This lake freezes pretty well but not solid. It’s the deep water in the middle that lets the fish live and that is where they’ll stay until it warms up a bit more. Since that is where the fish are, that is where I wanted my bait. It’s actually pretty shallow except for about the middle 40 feet. I took a floaty thingie I found in the truck out there with my raft, anchored it in place, and use it to fish from. I’m pulling the whole setup today so you’ll see.”

And with that, Fred got naked. As he stripped his clothes went into the bin. He quickly laid belly down on the inner tube and began paddling himself to the middle of the lake. Dan could see him stop next to something in the lake where he worked at the water level for a few minutes. At one point he held up a couple wiggling fish, his huge grin visible even at distance. After a few more minutes, he paddled himself back to shore, now towing another device behind him.

Fred threw three fish on a stringer onto the shore. His lips were blue and they made his grin stand out even more. Without a word, he began drying himself and getting dressed.

Dan bent and looked at the contraption Fred had drug ashore with him. It had started life as a wake board of some sort. Coiled on its surface were four pieces of monofilament fishing ling that ended in fishhooks. These had been weighted to keep them near the bottom. The other ends had been tied to the board itself. Each end of the board had a larger hole bored in it. One was empty and the other was used to tie the board to the inner tube. He assumed the empty hole had been the anchor line that kept the float in the middle of the lake. Dan had heard of similar setups where rotten meat had been left on the float. This would attract flies whose maggots would then attract fish to the area.

“Nicely done and successful too. I’m impressed.” Dan complimented.

“Thanks, I’ve been pretty surprised with how well it worked myself. And I have enough to share,” he beamed. “Now that I’m dressed, I’ll take care of these guys and we’ll be good to go.”

Fred expertly cleaned the fish. The inner tube was easily deflated and stuffed into the plastic bin. Then the two carried the fishing equipment back to Fred’s truck. Across the road Dan could see his family had the camp setup on the uphill side of the trucks. He was glad to see they had used the vehicles to shield them from the road.

Dan set the float down and saw where Fred had been cooking over a small campfire. An empty pallet was supported on two more of the plastic bins, creating a bench next to the fire ring.

He turned to Fred and said, “I appreciate the offer to share your dinner. I think we can kick in a bit more and have a proper meal for us all to share. How about you give me ten minutes and bring them on over?”

“That would be real nice. I love Festus but some days it’s nice to hear someone else’s voice. And seeing how he and I will be stuck with each other out there,” waving off to the west, “I think I’ll take you up on that.”

Dan rejoined his family and told them of the fish and the dinner guest. Everyone agreed that it would be nice to share their meal with him. Within minutes, Fred and the ever present Festus arrived. Ann slipped into the old habit of playing hostess without a thought and started water heating on the campstove.

Taking items from both their ‘road food’ and the stored food supplies, she cut two of their remaining potatoes into small cubes and dropped them into boiling water. She quickly pan fried the Rainbow Trout and set them aside. In another pot she heated a little oil and slowly stirred in some flour. Once these were well incorporated she poured in their last can of milk. A can of corn and a can of mixed vegetables, liquid and all, were added. She let this simmer gently after splashing a mix of seasoning in that appeared from nowhere. The fish were deboned and the majority of the skin given to a very attentive Festus. The spuds were finished by this time so the potatoes, the white sauce, and lastly the fish were combined.

“Wow, this sure is somethin’. I appreciate this very much, thank you.” Fred said as Ann ladled him a bowl.

Everyone was able eat their fill with less than half a bowl left in the pot. Knowing he was in the presence of a bunch of softies, Festus turned up the beg-power. This worked as planned and he was allowed to pre-wash the pots and the soup bowls.

Dan was a bit concerned about how much of their storage food they had just eaten but at least water was not a concern. When he mentioned they should boil some pond water for the dishes, Fred told them he had something better and dashed off toward his truck.

He returned minutes later carrying a five gallon collapsible water jug. He explained that he had filled a couple of them from the lake with his water filter. He insisted that not only was his water used, that he be allowed to help with the dishes. Ann put up a token protest then relented.

The remnants of dinner were stowed away and the group was chatting when Fred produced another surprise.

“Desert anyone?” He said as he removed a small foil package from his jacket. He offered the package out and each person took a piece of the dense bar. It looked like some sort of dense pound cake and had a slight lemon flavor. “Not gourmet but I like’m.”

Everyone enjoyed the treat.

As the sun dipped lower, Fred could see that Dan was getting antsy. As he was excusing himself, he turned to the group and said, “I have a proposition I’d like to run by you folks in the morning. It‘d be nice if we had a chance to talk again before you lite outa here.”

After some non-committal nods, Fred turned and called Festus. A few minutes later, they heard the door of the semi slam.

The night watch progressed as it had over the last several days until shortly after Bill began his shift. The quiet of the night was broken by a foreign noise that was gradually increasing. He quickly woke Ned and Ann, received a reply from Janice when he called softly to her through the tent wall, and was easing the pickup door open to wake Dan when he realized what he was hearing.

“Dan, wake up,” he whispered, “There’s a car coming.”

By the time the vehicle appeared from the West, they were all ranged around the camp. Hannah slept peacefully in the cab of the Blazer where Janice had moved her as she came online. Each was armed with a rifle or shotgun.

A battered pickup pulled into the turnout, stopping next to Fred’s truck. It coasted to a stop and switched off. The sudden silence lasted only a moment. Both doors opened with a squeal.

“Yea Haw! Dammit Jimmy that was slick!” shouted the man that bailed out of the passenger side of the truck. “Higgins never ‘specked nothing and we got outa there clear AND with his truck.”

The man laughed and wheeled in front of the pickup. His partner had extricated himself from driver’s seat and a flare showed that he had lit a cigarette.

“You didn’t do so bad yourself Miguel. You dropped Junior without a sound. And now we got some firepower,” said the second man as he threw something onto the hood with a bang.

“Oh yeah, I been wanting to split that kid since day one. Snot-nosed punk, thought he was all bigshot because his Daddy owned some piss ant little ranch in the boonies. Ha, I just wish we kept him around to see the place burn. Man that was genius.” Miguel replied. “Denver here we come. Enough of Sticksville, we are home free.”

As the two men talked, Ned, and Dan had made their way to the edge of the road. They were almost directly opposite the intruders when the driver picked up what had been thrown onto the truck. It was a rifle.

“Whatch think is in there?” he said, motioning to the truck with the barrel.

Even from across the road, Miguel’s sinister grin was obvious.”Travel’n funds.”

As they had discussed before they moved to the road, Bill was about 30 feet from Ned and Dan. They had agreed that if these thugs started mischief, Bill would draw their attention. The response would dictate what happen next.

Miguel was on the step of the truck when Bill called out. The response from the driver was to instantly begin firing in Bill’s general direction. The rapid clack-clack-boom of the thug’s rifle was quickly silenced as Ned and Dan fired on the man almost simultaneously.

At the sound of Bill’s call, Miguel had hesitated on the step. That hesitation meant that when Fred kicked the door open, it caught his outstretched arm instead of his chest. Fred and Festus followed the swinging door as Miguel jumped backwards off the truck.

As Dan, Bill, and Ned converged on the truck, they saw Miguel lunge at Fred. Using the heavy pistol as a club, Fred slammed it into Miguel’s wrist. With a sickening crunch, the wrist snapped and the blade he had been holding feel to the ground.

Instead of taking the fight out of Miguel, the injury seemed to enrage him. Miguel punched at Fred’s chest with his right hand even as he re-coiled his deformed left. Fred didn’t realize that Miguel had also had a weapon in this, his off hand. As he sidestepped to trap the arm under his, he felt a tearing in his left chest. He spared a glace and could already see the blood welling up in a line that split his tee shirt from mid-chest disappearing down his side.

With a roar, he spun. Miguel’s right arm was trapped and he had no time to react to Fred’s vicious change in motion. As Fred pivoted, all his force was directed against Miguel’s elbow. The joint easily dislocated causing blinding pain to rip through Miguel. Fred’s right arm was fully extended and still clutched the pistol. He allowed his momentum to carry him through a nearly complete circle and the soft bone of Miguel’s temple had no chance when the pistol bludgeoned him for the second time. The thug dropped to the ground like a dead rat.

Bill and Ned ran up Fred. Dan joined them once he had checked first the rifleman then Miguel for signs of life. He found none.

“You better sit down,” Dan told Fred, nodding to his bleeding chest. “Bill, go get my aid bag.”

“Umph. That smarts. I think I’ve got what you need in the rig. In the sleeper, “Fred said, flicking his eyes to his truck, “Smaller bag next to the backpack.”

While Bill went after the bag, Dan quickly ripped off the remainder of Fred’s shirt. He used this to apply pressure to the bleeding cut. In the twilight of the Auroras the wound looked like a black gash. It stretched from Fred’s nipple, tracked along his ribs, and ended where it had torn out the muscle on his side.

Bill returned with the bag. Dan opened it and it took only a moment for him to realize that there was much more to Fred than he had expected. While he didn’t have time to inspect it closely, the bag before him looked better stocked than some he had been issued as a street medic. Even in the low light he could see pouches labeled ‘Airway’, ’Diag.’, ‘IV’, ‘Meds’, ‘QC’, and ‘Trauma’. From the last one he removed two large bulky dressing and pressed them to the wound.

Festus popped up in front of the men. After a quick check and a reassuring pat on the head from Fred, he disappeared back into the night.

“We need to get this cleaned up and closed. You have anything in here that I can use for that?” Dan asked.

“Yup,” he replied, “Should be a pack with an instrument set and a few different sutures near the bottom. Ought to be some chlorhexidine in there too.”

Dan nodded. “Do you think you can walk? I’d like to get you over to our camp where I can lay you out and have some hot water and whatnot.”

With a nod and a grunt, Fred stood up. When he wavered a bit, Bill stepped in to support him. Ned jogged off to let the women know what was happening and to start preparing the camp.

As Dan zipped the bag closed he saw something he had missed before. Two subdued patches had been carefully stitched into the outside flap of the bag. One was three chevrons over two rockers, the other a sword over a pair of crossed arrows surrounded by the motto ‘de oppresso liber’.

[FlashDaddy]

Great story! And of course, what the prepared never want to hear is "None of our vehicles are working so I’m going to need yours. The county will make it up to you."

I'm betting that Fred and Festus will be joining our group.

[Nomad_Medic]

Dan caught up to Fred and Bill and helped them into camp. A lantern had been lit and the bed of the tailgate lowered. Water was heating on the stove and a wash bucket stood by.

Fred sat on the tailgate. The bleeding seemed to be well controlled with the dressings already in place, so Dan took a moment to look at the equipment he had available.

From the bottom of the bag he removed a nylon pouch marked ‘Wound Closure’. Inside he found a disposable suture pack containing a needle driver, scissors, and tweezers. According to the contents list, it also included several drapes, some gauze, and a pair of gloves. This was all sealed inside a sterile bag. Next to that were several pieces of suture. Dan quickly thumbed through the sealed envelopes and found sizes ranging from 5-0 up to 2-0 in both absorbable and non-absorbable. Also in the pouch he found a ziplock bag with several syringes and needles, alcohol prep pads, various steristrips, and even a skin stapler. Another bag held two multi-dose vials of lidocaine; one with epinephrine, the other without. As promised, a 500ml bottle of Hibiscrub, a chlorhexidine surgical scrub, lay next to a like sized bottle of iodine. An individually wrapped 60cc syringe rounded out the contents.

“Quite the setup you have here,” Dan said, “You know how to use this stuff?”

“Yup, at least for basic stuff. I had a buddy that helped me put that together and he was a bit more ambitious than me,” replied Fred.

Dan explained what he was doing as he gently removed the dressings. The bleeding had stopped though the blood began to ooze as he probed the edges of the wounds. Fred winced but didn’t call out as Dan separated the wound edges to determine what was involved. Whatever Miguel has used had struck Fred just above and to the outside of his nipple. It has sliced through the pectoral muscles, down the ribs, and through part of his obliques. It looked liked to Dan like the lats had been missed. The ribs had deflected the blade away from the major vessels and organs. Thankfully, the wound track was low enough that it didn’t involve any of the lymphatic system or the major nerves under the arm.

“Good news bad news time. Good news; he missed all the real important parts, you’re probably not going to bleed to death any time soon, and with your tools here, I think we should be able to get patched back up,” said Dan.

“Okay, that sounds good. What else is on your mind then?” asked Fred.

“Well, the thing of it is, I’ve put in lots of sutures but they don’t let me at the deep stuff. I know the theory and techniques to sew muscle, I just don’t have any experience with it,” confessed Dan.

Fred looked at him. “You say you’ve stitched up folks before?” When Dan nodded, he continued, “Well, that’s one up on me. I’ve stitched up ‘folk’ before, as in one guy, oh and a goat, but that don’t count. ‘sides, I couldn’t get at most of this if I wanted to.”

“Okay then, let’s get you numbed up so I can wash you out.”

The water had begun to boil on the campstove. Dan instructed Ann to keep it at a rolling boil while he worked on Fred but to turn it off after 30 minutes.

Dan spent the next little while injecting Dan with the local anesthetic. He knew he was administering a pretty large amount but it was well under the maximum safe dose of 7mg/kg. The numbers made him shudder. When used without the epinephrine, an addition that would tighten the vessels and virtually stop the tissue from bleeding, this would likely have cause Fred serious problems or death. Because of the risk of lidocaine toxicity and the introduction of so much epinephrine, Dan instructed Fred to tell him if he started to experience any ringing in his ears, visual changes, dizziness, chest pain, or confusion. Dan fully intended to keep him talking so he would notice if Fred started to slur his words. Of course, by the time symptoms began to show, there would be little Dan could do.

Because of the length of the wound, it took Dan several minutes to infiltrate the anesthetic along its whole length. By the time he was done, the water had begun cooling and the first area injected was numb.

He talked his way through what he was doing for Janice, who looked on with interest, as much as Fred. The first thing he did was add a small bit of chlorhexidine to the water. He then began to gently irrigate the wound using the large syringe from the kit.

“This is a nice straight laceration so it should close well. My two biggest concerns are infection and keeping the muscle together so it can heal properly. To fight the first, we’ll flush things out as best we can. I think these two pots worth should do the trick. Once I get you all closed up, we will put some of the antibiotic ointment on it. Do you have any oral antibiotics?” Dan asked, jerking his head towards the bag.

“Yup. Doc gave me a list of three or four to keep in there. I managed to get all of them, I think.”

“Good, I imagine we’ll be able to find something useful then. As far as the second goes, I’m hoping that between the sutures and the fact this arm is going to be immobilized, the tissue will heal well. So who is this ‘Doc’?”

Fred took a deep breath as Dan flushed the wound. “He’s a guy I was in the Army with.”

“I saw your patches Sarge. Special Operations, right? I was a Regular Army, 4-and-out, REMF, 91 Bravo. Got some good training but was CONUS the whole time. What was your story?” Dan asked.

“91 Bravo; that was the old Combat Medic MOS wasn’t it? Me, I started as an 11 Bangbang and did time in Korea then at Bragg. Up there I hung out with a couple other boneheads and the three of us decided to try Selection. Both my buddies washed out but I made it through and went 18 Charlie, Engineer. We went…well like they say; we explored new places, made new friends, and blew them up. I ended up cross training with Doc a lot. Nothing too in depth, mostly combat casualty stabilization stuff.

“My unit was in Trashganistan in the beginning. That’s where I got hurt. We went into a hot LZ after a bird that had taken an RPG the day before during Operation Anaconda. We came under heavy fire and took a couple RPG’s as we inserted. Needless to say, we went in hard.

“The next thing I knew, I was in a hospital in Germany. They say when we crashed I broke my back, bruised my spinal cord, and got knock out cold. It took me three months of rehab back at Walter Reed before I could walk and another six before I was anywhere near up to speed. I guess they felt bad at how much of a cluster the operation at Takur Ghar turned into so they offered me medical retirement. At that point I had been active for 12 years and was pretty fed up with the system so I took it.”

Dan nodded as he finished with the last of the irrigation. The lidocaine was working well and he quickly began suturing the damaged muscles. Using the specialty stitches he had been taught, Dan drew the muscle tissue together. He used the entire supply of absorbable suture in Fred’s kit but after nearly an hour he was complete. Janice had continued chatting with Fred as Dan had focused on the unfamiliar task. When Dan stood erect after putting the final internal suture in place, he realized he was getting cold.

He looked up and realized Fred was wrapped in a blanket. He had been so focused he hadn’t noticed the temperature had dropped several degrees. Janice noticed his shiver and retrieved his jacket from the cab of the pickup.

“Okay, the next part should be easy,” he said aloud. “I just need to put in another 20 or so stitches and we’ll be finished.”

“Why not just staple me up? It’s not like I’m gonna be winning any beauty contests as it is, a few more scars are nothing,” asked Fred.

“You’re already numbed up so let’s save the staples until we really need them, “replied Dan. “This won’t take long.”

He was right. 30 minutes later Fred’s wound was completely closed, coated with antibiotic ointment, and dressed with clean gauze. Dan rigged a sling and swath that held Fred’s left hand to his chest and relieved tension from the wounded tissue.

A quick search through the ‘Meds’ pouch found what Dan was looking for. He instructed Fred to take one tablet of Augmentin, a broad spectrum antibiotic composed of two medicines, twice a day for the next ten days.

As Dan was picking up the medical equipment, Bill asked him to check on the wound repair they had done at the house.

“Oh wow Bill, I’m really sorry, I completely forgot about your head,” apologized Dan.

Bill smiled, “We’ve all been pretty busy and it seems to be healing just fine. It’s only that the hair is starting to pull up there and I was wondering if it’s okay.”

Dan looked and easily cut the glued pieces of hair away. Bill thanked him and relieved Ned on watch.

After a quick discussion, it was decided the Dan would spend the night sleeping in the cab of Fred’s rig with Fred and Festus in the sleeper.

The rest of the night was uneventful. Ned, Ann, and Bill completed the guard shifts for the night. Even after the events of the night, everyone was awake with the dawn and they all filtered to the camp where Ann was boiling water for coffee.

A fine layer of frost coated everything. On another day the landscape would have shone like a field of diamonds but on this day the sun was hidden in the slate grey sky. Colorado’s winter wasn’t quite ready to relinquish its grip on the land.

Everyone soon had a cup of coffee. Shortly after that, Ann was pouring hot water over oatmeal. She then added a dollop of peanut butter and handed each person a cup of the thick, calorie rich, gruel.

Fred spoke up between bites. “This sorta changes my plans a bit. It’s gonna be a while before I’m hump’n a ruck anywhere. I really appreciate the help you folks have given me, and I hate to ask but, do you think I could hitch a ride with you to Fairplay? I am sure I can layup there until I’m back on my feet.”

“Don’t be ridicules; you should come with us to my brothers ra…..” Janice said before she could stop herself.

Blushing fiercely, she continued, “I know Ned told you we were going somewhere in Fairplay but we’re not. My brother has a big ranch south of the highway outside Jefferson. I know he’ll have room; you should come with us.”

“I’m not really in a way to earn my keep but I might have something he’d take as payment. If you folks don’t mind me tagging along, I’d be willing to give it a shot. It’s not like I have any other pressing engagements.” Fred answered.

The group was silent for a moment. Then Ned shrugged his shoulders.

“I don’t see why not. And besides, I’d say we have another vehicle now,” he said, pointing across the road at the truck the two thugs had driven the previous evening.

“Thank you Ned. I have a few things in the rig. Before we split, we really ought to take the useful stuff outa the trailer; at least as much as we can,” said Fred.

Dan thought for a moment. “How’s this sound for a plan? Bill, Janice, and Mom, can you guys break down the camp and get us ready to roll? While you’re doing that, Ned, why don’t you take a look at that other truck and see if it’s even worth trying to taking? We sent a whole lota bullets in that general direction last night. Fred, I’ll help you get your stuff out of the truck then we can see what is in the back. Sound good?”

Everyone agreed and started on their tasks. When Dan, Ned, and Fred, reached the vehicles in the turnout, they realized another task had to be addressed first. The bodies of the two men that had attacked them had been left where they fell in the night. If the group, especially the women, were going to be working around the semi, the bodies needed to be moved.

Dan rolled the rifleman onto his back. He had taken several rounds to the chest and neck. His clothing was soaked with blood and frozen to his body. Dan checked his pockets and found a Zippo lighter and a pack of cigarettes. As he started to drag the body towards the ditch, Fred stopped him.

“I think these might fit you,” he said, kicking the dead man’s foot.

Dan looked and realized Fred was right. The leather logger-style boots looked to be close to his size. While the lightweight cross-trainers he had been wearing for his trip were adequate, they wouldn’t hold up much longer in the world in which he now lived. After only a moment’s hesitation, he stripped the boots off the man and set them aside.

Knowing that in his current state he’d be more of a hindrance than a help, Fred left Dan to his task and picked up the gun the man had dropped. It was a blued steel lever action rifle. Fred was able to set the safety but with only one hand he was unable to unload it. Keeping it pointed in a safe direction and taking care to keep his fingers off of the trigger, he looked at the markings stamped into the barrel. Marlin Classic Model 1895 .45-70. It wasn’t something he recognized.

“That’s what he got you with,” Ned said, standing next to the other body.

Dan rejoined them as they looked where Ned pointed. Fred handed the rifle to Dan and bent to pick up the object on the ground.

“Shoulda figured, a punch knife. They’re no good for anything but cutting people. This one isn’t even decent, ‘Made in Taiwan’,” Fred read. “You fellas want this?” When they shook their heads ‘No’, he tossed it into the brush.

A quick check of Miguel’s pockets found two more knives. One was a cheap Balisong that was also thrown away. The other was a razor sharp, six inch, fixed blade Buck in a custom leather sheath. Fred used it to cut the dead man’s belt and set the sheath and knife on the step to his rig.

Fred indicated the rifle in Dan’s hand with a nod of his head. “What do you make of that?”

“This? A leaver action .45-70 Government. They’re an old cowboy gun from back in the day. Marlin sort of ‘re-introduced’ them a few years back and when I lived in Alaska a lot of the Guides were buying them as backups for client hunts. I had a buddy with one and they are a lot of fun to shoot. Factory ammo is a 300 grain bullet that flies like a shot-put; a trajectory that looks like a rainbow, a functional range around 150 yards, but a wallop when it gets there,” explained Dan.

“Interesting, not my speed, but interesting,” was Fred’s reply.

Dan worked the action but found only one shell in the rifle. He looked around and picked up the three empty shell cases he found and slid them into his pocket. A quick look through the cab of the truck found a box with 12 shells on the seat. A half full thermos of coffee, an empty whisky flask, and the miscellaneous detritus you would expect in a farm truck rounded out the contents of the cab.

While Dan was checking the cab, Ned had opened the hood. When Dan went to join Fred in the semi, Ned turned the key in the ignition. The truck turned over and after a few seconds, came to life. After listening to it idle for a minute, he drove the 30 feet to the trailer, shut it down, and began working under the hood.

In the semi, Dan was helping Fred get his things ready to move. It didn’t take Dan more than two seconds to see that Fred was well prepared for an emergency. Dan, a gear geek, noticed that the main bag Fred was trying to wrestle single handedly out of the sleeper bore the same distinctive red lion logo with ‘LBT’ written below it. The bag was covered with pockets and had several MOLLE additions. It was clear where the Medical Bag would attach and be held securely to the main bag. Dan stepped forward and lifted the bag first to the front seat then down to the ground. Fred also removed a LBV that was heavily laden and passed it forward. This joined the backpack outside the truck. Finally, Fred removed a key from his neck and slid it into what looked like a seam in the carpet. He turned this and a door opened. From inside he withdrew two weapons. The first was a Benelli M4 12 gauge shotgun. The autoloader had a bandoleer sling filled with shells, Tritium ghost ring sights, an integrated flashlight on a pressure switch, and oddly enough a vertical foregrip. Next, he passed out a rifle chambered in .308. It was obvious that a lot of work had gone into the weapon. The Nightforce scope rode atop an action set into a Choate Tactical Stock mated to a heavy barrel. This was followed by the ammo cans whose weight suggested they did indeed hold ammunition.

“Fred, sorry to pry here but how did you expect to carry all this stuff through the hills?” asked Dan.

“Carry it, no way. I was gonna strap it to Festus, you don’t think I keep him around for his odiferous emanations do you?” Fred answered with a straight face as he slid past Dan and out of the truck.

Dan simply shook his head and climbed out himself, setting the weapons and ammunition with the other gear.

Bill, Ann, and Janice joined the others at the newly acquired pickup. Ned had made a few minor adjustments and replaced a couple easy to get at hoses. He pronounced the rig fit to travel but wasn’t willing to use it as a tow truck without going over it more closely.

The group gathered Fred’s things and put them into the back of the truck, though the weapons went into the rack in the rear window. The pickup was then backed up to the rear of the semi trailer and the doors were opened.

Bill and Ned left to prepare the other vehicles for the road. They would fuel them, check coolant levels, and swapped out batteries. When they were finished, they would join the others.
Inside the trailer, several shrink wrapped pallets had been opened. Dan remembered Fred saying he had scavenged items from the truck for his fishing setup. Dan stepped up from the pickup bed into the trailer then helped Ann, Janice, and Fred in.

Pointing at the beefiest hand truck Dan had ever seen, Fred said, “That’s my cargo hauler.”

Looking closer, Dan noticed the hand truck was much different than the average Home Depot version. All the components of this one were larger, especially the tires. These were inflatable and Dan suspected foam filled. They gave would give it several inches of ground clearance when it was tilted. Fred removed a retaining pin and the handle telescoped out an extra 3 feet. He explained that used in conjunction with a carry belt that rested most of the weight on his hips, he could easily tow the cart like a travois. There were several lashing points on the cart that an elastic cargo net could be secured to. He told Dan that he had carried all the gear they removed from the sleeper over a hundred miles to see if he could do it. He had developed the system when he realized his back injury would not allow him to use a regular ruck.

“A lot of this stuff isn’t worth taking but some is worth its weight in gold,” called Ann from the other end of the trailer.

“Yup. Hardware stores now a day’s carry a lot of junk. If we had all kinds of space, I’d say we bring it all, but since we’re limited….” Fred trailed off.

They began organizing and sorting the goods. The first pass, they simply tried to set the ‘junk’ aside. Things like lawn ornaments, wind chimes, and water toys went into this pile. After everyone agreed on the trash, the next step was to set aside the essentials. The three cases of vegetable and flower seeds that had been distend for three separate stores started the pile. A case of Coleman fuel, a box of assorted fishing supplies, the Old Timer knife display and stock, a 50 pound box of 16 penny nails, two cases of plastic tarps in assorted sizes, and 100 feet of 3/8” chain in a transport barrel made up the rest of the pile. This was moved directly to the pickup.

Ned and Bill rejoined the others and lent a hand. The rest of the morning was spent adding and subtracting items from the final pile of goods to be loaded. In the end, they had all had items they argued for rejected by the group and others accepted. They somehow managed to get it all secured in the rigs and covered with tarps. The final item loaded into the pickup, which was strapped into the middle of the bench seat in the cab, was the 50 pound tote of Festus food Fred had secured behind the sleeper.

By the time the group was finished they were all hungry for lunch. It had taken all morning to get things organized and secured but they were ready to depart. As they ate, they discussed what they hoped would be the final leg of the journey for most of them.

Janice and Bill explained that James’s property was about 20 miles outside of Jefferson. The route was mostly south though the last 5 miles took them east. The majority of the ride was over paved county roads with several miles of ranch road at the end. They described a mostly flat landscape with the ranch tucked at the head of a valley in the foothills. No matter what they did, they would be visible for miles around.

Because getting lost on the back roads could spell disaster, they agreed that Janice should be in the lead vehicle. This would also allow her to make first contact with the ranch when they arrive. Bill argued that he should rid with her until Ann pointed out that if something happen to the truck they were both in, Hannah would be orphaned. Paling, he agreed to ride in another vehicle.

They soon had a marching order worked out. Dan and Janice would go first in the new pickup. They would be followed by Ann driving the other pickup with Fred and Festus as passengers. Fred’s injury would severely limit him in a firefight but they felt the lead and tailing vehicles could lend fire support if need be. He would have his shotgun as a last resort though he didn’t want to think about firing it one handed from inside a moving vehicle. Ned, Bill, and Hannah would bring up the read with the Blazer towing the trailer.

The final discussion was a short one. They all agreed it would have been best to depart first thing in the morning. The pregnant clouds, cold breeze, and the unmistakable smell of snow in the air all argued against staying in the pass any longer than they had to. Nobody objected when Ned suggested they get on the road.

After no more than the expected jockeying, everyone was loaded and the vehicles ready to go. With a solemn nod from Janice, Dan started down the pass.

[dixierider]

Very good story

[Tommy Tran]

MOAR!

[Nomad_Medic]

Once again their concerns about the long downhill ride proved to be unneeded. All the vehicles safely completed the decent and began slowing as soon as the road leveled out. Janice had explained that they would be making a hard left about two miles from the end of the hill.

Dan contemplated the landscape before him. The highway they traveled traversed the basin from northeast to southwest. While they drove on land that was as flat and featureless as a sheet of plywood, mountains could be seen all around them. He knew that several large reservoirs, including Jefferson in the north, Tarryall in the middle, and Eleven Mile to the south, dotted the area. The elevation of nearly 10,000 feet kept most people away and he guessed the valley supported a population of under 1,500. That all changed if one went farther into the more rugged Rockies. As the crow flies, the village of Jefferson lay only 35 miles east of the playground of the rich and famous Vail, Colorado. But the Rockies being what they are, driving from one to the other was a trip nearly three times that distance over narrow mountain roads.

Jefferson hadn’t boasted many residents since the Gold Rush days and none made themselves known as the convoy turned off the state highway onto the county road. After only a few bends, the road became arrow straight and paralleled the foothills. They followed this for nearly twenty miles then turned onto a dirt spur road that wound its way back into the mountains.

Dan hoped that they would indeed be welcomed. The dirt tract they followed now disappeared ahead of them as it curved into a smaller draw. The high flanks on either side were crowned by large conifers that could hide anything. He dropped his speed to less than 20 miles an hour, fearing any faster and he’d drive away from Ned and the trailer. In the back of his mind, he wished they had discussed how to react to an ambush but it was far too late for that now.

Any question if their approach had been noticed evaporated as he rounded the bend. Half a mile ahead another ridge joined the draw he had just entered. As the convoy crept forward, a thick column of black smoke rose straight up from the spot where that ridge joined the floor of the draw they were in. When he looked for the source of the smoke, he saw a mounted rider disappearing up the valley.

“I’m guessing that lookout just let somebody know we’re here.” Dan said over the noise of the road.

Janice, more nervous than eager now, nodded her agreement.

“There! You see the gate? We’re here!” Janice said pointing to the heavy pipe barrier ahead of them.

At Dan’s direction Janice signaled for the other vehicles to stop. He could only hope the Mad Maxed cooling systems would do the trick. If the engines stalled now the group would be in serious trouble. There was neither enough room to turn around nor an incline to push start the rigs. They could probably use the newest pickup to push the others but only if they were not in any outside danger.

Dan took his foot off the accelerator and idled forward. As they neared the gate, he spoke.

“I think it’s best if you let them see who you are. Do not take a weapon and call out as soon as you get out of the truck. There is no reason to think your brother has come into any trouble but it doesn’t hurt to be safe.”

“Okay, but there’s nobody here. The ranch house is another couple miles up the valley. Who am I calling to?” Janice asked.

“That smoke let anyone that was watching know there are visitors. If they have horses like you mentioned last night, they could easily be here by now,” he explained.

Dan stopped the truck 15 feet from the gate. He gave Janice the best smile he could muster and she stepped from the truck.

Keeping her hands open and out to her sides, she slowly walked towards the gate.

“Jim, it’s me, we made it. Jim are you out there, it’s Janice and Bill and Hannah. If your there please say something,” she called.

“That’s enough right there. Miss Sullivan, is that you? You okay? That aint Bill in that truck with you,” a voice called from the woods.

“It’s okay Jeremiah. They’re friends. Bill’s with the baby in the last truck back there,” she replied. “Is Jim coming?”

“Ma’am, for right now, I’d appreciate it very much if you could walk up the road a ways. I can let you in but the rest of this lot, well, the Boss needs to okay that,” the voice, apparently belonging to Jeremiah, answered.

Janice glanced at Dan who was doing his very best to not look dangerous and ducked under the pipe baring the road. She gingerly stepped across the cattle guard and moved up the road. Just before she disappeared from vision, Dan saw her, stop, then walk into the treeline.

A few minutes later, she reemerged with her hand tucked under the arm of an older man. Her body language and the smile on her face told Dan that this was brother James. He studied the rancher as he walked towards the truck.

James was a large man, not fat, just big. Dan guessed him at just over 6 feet and roughly 200 pounds. He looked older than Dan had expected, probably only ten years younger than Dan’s parents. His dress, from the sweat stained Stetson to the heavy canvas jacket and worn leather boots, showed him to be someone that worked for a living. As they drew closer, Dan saw he wore a holstered pistol on his hip. The leg of his pants had been worn where it rubbed as had the jacket. Wear like that didn’t occur in a week and he was willing to bet that James was very proficient with that pistol.

He approached the truck and said, “My sister says her family owes you folks their lives; thank you for getting them here. I’m Jim Duncan and welcome to our spread. Jan’s vouching for yawl and that’s good enough for me. Let’s get you up to the ranch house and we can talk.”

Dan shook the hand that was extended to him. Jim called out and Jeremiah emerged from the woods on Dan’s right. Dan hadn’t realized it but Jeremiah had maneuvered to a position that gave him a clear line of sight on each driver. Jim spoke to the man for a moment then returned to the truck.

“He’ll lock up after we get through and bring my horse in. If we can move that bin,” he said pointing at the dog food, “it would be best for me to ride up with you.”

When Dan opened the door he flashed a quick ‘thumbs up’ down the line. The dog food was tossed onto the supplies in the back where it would balance for the short distance they were going. With that done, they entered the Lost Park Ranch.

As Dan put the truck in gear, James spoke.

“When we get closer, I’ll need to walk up first. Be a shame for someone to get shot on account of nerves.” James smiled, “Ricky, I’m not worried about but I’m not so sure about Bridget’s boyfriend.”

“Bridget? She’s been so busy up at school, she couldn’t even make it back for Christmas,” said Janice.

James ran a hand up his face to his hairline and back. “Sissy, that’s a whole parcel of mischief there. You’ll understand in a minute.”

The road followed the base of the hill as Dan had seen from the gate. When he looked across the valley he could see where the watchman, Jeremiah he presumed, had lit the signal fire. Half a burning tire could be seen sticking out of the top of a steel drum.

“That’s a good way to let folks know they’ve been seen.” Dan said, nodding towards the smoking barrel.

“Yeah, the talkies died along with most of the other gear around here. I’ve got a couple theories about what happen but nothing concrete,” replied James.

Once past the ridge that had hidden the upper valley, the road curved across the valley floor .The ranch house and several outbuildings sat near the far end of the valley floor.

James turned towards Dan, “This is probably good enough. I told them up there to make sure nobody got across the bridge.” He nodded at the single lane bridge that crossed the valley floor a couple hundred feet ahead.

When the truck had stopped, James stepped out and casually walked to the bridge. He disappeared down the bank and returned moments later with a coffee can in hand. He set this gently on the road and removed his hat. He very deliberately waved his hat over his head three times, replaced it, the returned the coffee can down the embankment. After he had finished his task in the creek, he waved the trucks forward.

“That should make things a bit more pleasant,” he said as he closed the door.

The promise of snow was realized as the convoy covered the final half mile to the house. James directed Dan to drive past the house and park near a large barn. Ann and Ned were waved to the same area and soon the rigs were shut down.
As the group from the vehicles stepped out, Dan took in his surroundings. They were parked next to a large pole barn type structure that looked to be an equipment shed. Peering into the dim interior, he could see the outline of a camping trailer and an old pickup. There were also several four wheelers and a tractor. Next to this there was a long building that he couldn’t guess the use of. Continuing to the right, there was a much bigger barn with several stall doors visible though no animals could be seen. Turning farther that way took him back to the valley. On the other side of the equipment barn, he could see an area was obviously used as a garden in the growing season. It was completely fenced with a small greenhouse at one end. The garden was only fifteen or twenty feet from the large ranch house.

Dan admired the stonework that made up the first floor with thick logs composing the second story. It had a covered porch that wrapped around the two sides he could see. The side nearest him was screened with a long picnic table setup on it. As he looked, a side door opened and a woman strode out.

“Ah, mi hermana pequeña, I’m so happy you made it, we were worried,” the woman smiled as she grasped Janice in a warm embrace.

Janice laughed, “We were worried too! You don’t know how glad I am we’re here.”

Another woman joined them from the house. Her black hair and slender build pegged her immediately as the first woman’s daughter. More remarkable than the familiar resemblance was her apparent gravid status.

Janice made the introductions. The older woman with the Hispanic features was Mary, James’ wife. Bridget, who was in her final year of the Veterinary program at the University of Colorado in Fort Collins, was their oldest child. Ned chuckled to hear Janice describe her cousin as a child when she couldn’t have had more than three years on her.

“You all should get in out of this snow,” said James. “I want to check the horses and I’ll be inside shortly.”

“I can help.” Bill and Dan said almost simultaneously.

“You’ll get your chance but right now I have a couple other sets of hands to use,” he said nodding towards two figures walking towards the group.

The tall, slim, man was introduced as, Bridget’s fiancé. He carried a shotgun slung over one shoulder with a pair of binoculars around his neck. The smaller shape resolved itself into a boy around twelve years old. Rick, as he was introduced, carried a bolt action rifle with a high powered scope. They were both brushing straw from their clothing as they walked up.

“You boys give me a hand with the animals, this looks like an ‘out like a lion’ sorta spring storm.” James instructed.

With a nod and a “Yes sir”, the two reversed course. James followed them to the barn.

Mary herded the group through the door she had come out. After stripping off dirty boots and jackets in the mud room, the group was ushered through the kitchen into the great room. A fire crackled in the large hearth, the flames making shapes dance across the walls.

Bridget offered the group a tour of the house. Dan passed as he wanted to check on Fred’s bandages but Ned and Ann accepted the offer. She took them around the spacious lower floor with the large master bedroom and two bathrooms. The kitchen showed that Mary’s love of cooking rivaled Ann’s and the well stocked pantry attested to her gardening skills. Ann couldn’t help but notice the dining table between the kitchen and the great room looked like it would easily seat over a dozen people. Upstairs were three rooms that faced the open balcony and overlooked the lower floor. She explained that the two bedrooms shared the stone fireplace that climbed from the master bedroom. The third room was used as an office and library.

When Ned commented on the number of oil lanterns, Mary explained that they frequently lost power in the winter and had designed the house knowing this would probably be the case.

“Even before this…whatever hit, we could go for days on end without power,” Mary said. “The fireplaces keep things toasty and the Aladdin’s keep things bright.”

The tour concluded, the group returned to the great room. They were soon joined by James and Ted.

“I sent Ricky to give Jeremiah a hand then they’ll both be up. I think we all ought to set down and talk some things through.”

[FlashDaddy]

Great story post! I did have to look up "gravid". Then I realized I had heard it in biology class or someplace, years ago. I like the burning tire signal. MOAR!

[Nomad_Medic]

While they waited, Fred excused himself to look after Festus and Ann stepped into the kitchen to offer Mary a hand.

“So, how do you folks know my baby sister?” asked James.

Dan sat back and gazed out the large double windows while Ned told their story. The others drifted in and made themselves comfortable as the story went on. Mary and Ann brought in a tray with a pitcher of hot water, tea, and instant coffee. Ted filled Jeremiah and Ricky in on the beginning when they arrived and soon Ned finished the tale.

“So you’re thinking solar flare too, huh? I kinda thought so, what with the Northern Lights up there going nuts. It looks like they might be calming down but who knows for sure.” James said. “Hell for all we know we coulda been hit with HEMP weapons on top of what the Sun did to us. Doesn’t really matter much either way. In fact what it was doesn’t matter one bit, just the end result.”

While most of the group had blank looks, Dan’s face held a small smile.

“High-altitude Electromagnetic Pulse? Janice said you were a ‘survivalist’ and I guess so,” Dan said. Turning to the group at large, he continued. “HEMP weapons cause a massive EMP like we talked about when this all started. It’s possible that somebody thought to follow up the solar flares with an attack.” He shrugged and looked back to James.

“I wouldn’t say I am a ‘survivalist’ or hang some other label on us. We get cut off a lot out here and we’re well prepared for that. Even though we are better off than a lot of folks are right now, if this thing goes on, we’ve got a long haul ahead of us. I really appreciate what you folks did for Janice, Hannah, and Bill. I’m not one to turn folks out but if you stay, you’ll need to pull your weight,” he said glancing at Fred’s bandaged arm.

“Sir, I understand the burden I’ll be for the next lil’ while. If you’ll accept, I’d like to rent a piece of barn floor to crash on for the next couple weeks for me ‘n Festus. I’ll do what I can to help yawl out; I was a fair hand on the farm back when I was younger, and I can live off my stores fairly well.” Fred replied.

With that he reached into his waistband and withdrew a money belt. Using his right hand he carefully laid it on the floor and took out two large gold coins.

“Last week these guys were worth a bit over a grand each. I’m thinking that value has gone up in the last few days. You think these’ll cover a couple weeks worth of lodging?” Fred asked hopefully.

James fingered the Gold Eagles. Looking evenly at Fred, he said, “You throw in where you can and don’t cause no trouble and we’ll do you better than the barn floor.”

“I’d like to stay for a couple days then be on my way,” said Dan when James turned his gaze towards him. “I need to get back to Oregon.”

“You’re welcome to rest up. I understand what you’re saying son.” James replied.

“Seems everyone’s met so let’s get sleeping arrangements figured out and get those trucks sorted. Jeremiah, I’d like you to head down to the gate for a couple hours. Wait for an hour or so after dark then head back up. We’ll hold dinner on ya. Keep a sharp eye out; I don’t expect any trouble but if you see anyone moving up that road, you light that tire off and get back up in the trees. You have that flare gun so if you have any problems, pop that off and the cavalry will ride on in.

“Ricky, you dig that ol’ telescope out of your closet. You’ll have to watch hard to see smoke in this snow if he lights things up but it’s important. Now, upstairs with you.

“Janice, you three are gonna have to move into the office. We’ll get things moved out of there and figure a way to get some more heat to you but it won’t be too bad. There’re enough blankets around here to make you comfortable.

“Ned, Ann, you folks will be out in the bunk house. Jeremiah’s room is at one end but we usually bring in a couple hands in the summer so the there should be plenty of space. His room opens into the bunkroom so you will have to work something out for privacy. I’ll let you figure that out. The barrel stove will keep everything toasty.

“That leaves you two and the lil’ dog. It’s been closed up for the winter and it’ll be colder than a witch’s… well it’ll be cold but you fellas are stuck with the camper. Our sleeping bags are in there already and we can bring you some more blankets. The mattresses are pretty comfortable.

“I’d like you folks to get as settled as you can and bring anything that’ll get hurt by the cold inside; my hips say it’s gonna freeze tonight. When the Sun hits the top of that hill back that way, I’d like you to come in and help get supper ready.

“Dan, before you go, I’d like to speak with you.” James concluded.

The group broke apart with Dan telling Fred he’d help carry gear when he finished with James.

When they were alone, James turned to Dan. “As I said a few minutes ago, I understand you wanting to get to your family. That’s the right thing to do. But I want you to tell me if I’ve got this figured right. You plan on walking some 1,500 miles, alone to Oregon. You don’t have a route planned; you have virtually no equipment; and you have hardly any food. Because you’re on foot, you’ll have to forage and hope to not get shot, robbed, or lost. You risk snow on this end for at least another month that will chase you up through Idaho. That about sum things up?”

Dan didn’t answer so James continued. “I have an alternative. My little girl is carrying my grandbaby right now. And in the last week of August, she’s gonna have that baby. Your dad said you were a paramedic so that makes you the closest thing to a doctor we have. If you stay here and get her, and me, through the birth, I will kit you out for your trip. A pair of horses, rifle, food, the works. It’s a good offer; I’d like you to think that over and give me an answer in the next couple days.”

With that, James turned and followed Mary into the kitchen. Dan’s mind was abuzz as he laced up a dead man’s boots and contemplated his future.

[Nomad_Medic]

****SPOILER ALERT****

While it hasn't been posted here yet, the museum listed below will be a big part of the coming sections in this story. If you happen to be in Colorado this weekend, they are having a big open house/ Living history days the 13-14th. Stop in, see what they have to show, and drop a couple coins to support a great display. (I would love to go see the thing as I am sure it would help my writing but I'm still stuck on a frigg'n boat.)

http://www.southparkcity.org/

[Dr Jekell]

(I would love to go see the thing as I am sure it would help my writing but I'm still stuck on a frigg'n boat.)