The last day, p.10
The Last Day, page 10
part #1 of The Last Day Series
I pulled my mind away from the people in the towns and tried to focus on looking beyond what I would typically see. In this new world, I would need to see different things. I needed to look for danger and threats, which could be hidden anywhere. “Do you think that people will already be turning to desperate tactics? I mean, I know the guy at the rest area did, but will most people be to that point already? Are there really going to be dangers everywhere?” I asked Ty.
“Well, no not yet most likely. Most normal people will be sitting in their homes watching or listening to the emergency announcements. They think that the government will take care of them. I don’t know that the government won’t try to help, once they figure it out but they won’t be able to help everyone. Right now they are pulling all military west, but I’m guessing that most of the west coast is now unlivable if not gone. The earthquake that we felt was caused by the impact, but I have been wondering if an impact that large where there are so many tectonic plates wouldn’t cause other area fault lines to have quakes too. You know how they used to joke about the big California quake that would finally send that part of the country into the ocean? What if that happens too? Not to mention, radiation from the initial impact and the dust cloud… oh and the air blast that will destroy most everything in its path. The devastation to the west coast, and beyond, will be complete. I think survivability is about zero percent in that part of the country. Once they call the military back to help the people that they can, it might be too late. Time will tell.” Ty paused, seeming to re-center his thoughts. “We won’t have to worry about the people who are waiting for the government to take care of them yet. It’s the people who know, like my dad, that we have to worry about. There are the doomsday people out there who didn’t prep like my family did, and they are the ones who are going to be a problem right now. They will be devious, and they could be anywhere or anyone. While we may not have to worry about everyone we do have to worry that anyone could be the guy that we have to worry about.”
I thought about his logic for a minute, and it made perfect sense to me. It didn’t mean that we could be any less vigilant. Even though most people would not try to harm or stop us, anybody could be the person who would try. I looked out the window, watching the road ahead, scanning the hills and any exit or entrance ramps to the freeway that we passed. Danger could be lurking anywhere. It was maddening to think that danger could lurk anywhere and my stress level was unbearable, but I knew I just had to deal with it. The radio continued to quietly repeat the same message but other than that the truck was noiseless as we progressed down the freeway.
We were quickly approaching Winston-Salem, and I knew that we would have to circle around the city in some way. I was sure that Ty had a plan, but I didn’t know if he had shared it with Ben. I had stopped seeing signs of life in the houses that we passed, and I had to wonder if somehow the families had been gathered up and forced to some unknown place. As I was pondering, Ty started the slow the truck. I looked out the windows and all around but did not see any reason for concern. As if he was reading my mind Ty explained.
“I think I should explain to Ben my plan and the reasoning for circling around the bigger cities. He needs to be on board so that he doesn’t do something stupid and mess up. It also would be a good idea to see how he’s doing. That was a hard hit to the head and, even though he’s hard-headed, it could have done more damage than he is willing to admit. He refused to let Jules drive. Lastly, I want to let them know about the emergency broadcast if they haven’t heard it yet.”
“Good plan. Sometimes he doesn’t think things through as well as he should. It’ll be nice to get out and stretch my legs for a minute too.”
“Really, you need to stretch those tiny little legs?” Ty teased me. “You have plenty of room in here to maneuver. I’m the one without any space over here.”
I was laughing as Ty brought the truck to a stop on the side of the road. He asked me to stay inside for a moment as he got out to make sure that he didn’t see any danger lurking in the area. Once he had looked around, he opened my door and lifted me out of the truck. The world seemed very peaceful here. There were no houses in our line of sight and as far as I could see everything was green and new. Some of the fields looked as if they had been planted recently and little green plants were pushing their way through the newly turned and loose dirt. I hoped they would survive the upcoming dust storms, or whatever Ty was talking about, and be around to feed those who needed it when autumn arrived.
Once Ben and Jules got out of their truck, and it was determined that Ben did not seem to be suffering any lingering effects from his head injury, Ty got right to the point. “All right, I want to waste as little time as possible here because we need to keep moving forward as quickly as we can. First, if you two have not had your radio on you need to turn on the AM/FM and listen to the emergency broadcast. It’s just the same message repeating but it might change and give us more information as we progress or if they learn something new.” Ben tried to interrupt, but Ty stopped him. “Just listen to it, and you will know the same things we do. Now, as we proceed, we need to do so cautiously. People will start to figure things out and when they do they will become increasingly more desperate. We don’t want to deal with anyone else like the rest area guy. Just make sure you are keeping your eyes open for danger. If you see anything flash your lights. I’ll see them in my rearview and know you need to speak with me. As we go through the larger cities, I will be changing our routes. We do not want to attempt to go through on the main roads. I’m guessing they will be barricaded and/or manned with military or police force to enforce the shelter in place request. We do not want to be stopped by anyone or forced into a shelter at this point. A shelter would be the worst place for us. We need to come out of Winston-Salem on the western side, heading west on I-40 so just keep up and follow me. Got it?”
∞∞∞
I was feeling tense when we got back into the truck and headed back onto the road. We were getting close to the city and, although I had the utmost faith in Ty’s ability to maneuver us around the city itself, I couldn’t shake the thought that something was going to go wrong and someone was going to try to force us somewhere that we didn’t want or need to go. ‘For our own protection,’ of course, they would tell us. I couldn’t help but think that everything would be better once we got to the cabin. I knew that it was going to take us longer than the three and a half hours it would have on a typical day, but it felt like we had already been on this journey for a lifetime.
A few miles up the road Ty eased the truck onto an exit ramp and exited the freeway. I sat on the edge of the seat, waiting for something to go wrong. Would the police be waiting at the top, I wondered. The ramp curved and the spot where it intersected with the road was hidden by a thick grove of trees. Finally, the empty intersection came into view, and I released the breath that I hadn’t realized I had been holding. No one was waiting there to try to force us somewhere. No one was monitoring the roads, at least not this one.
Ty turned left onto the two-lane road, and we began making our way towards Interstate 40. Unlike the freeway, the road we now traveled on had houses sprinkled alongside it and, occasionally, I could see someone peek out from behind a curtain. I mentioned this observation to Ty, but he had no clue why the people from the freeway houses were gone while these ones were still sheltering in place.
“Maybe someone came and picked up the other people for some reason, and whoever it is just hasn’t made it here yet. It just adds another reason for us to look very carefully and move as quickly as we can. We need to get out of these populated areas. It’s a good observation on your part. Things like that are what we need to be looking for.”
I continued to watch the landscape as we drove. Every once in a while I saw a house or building that appeared to have been damaged in the earthquake. There was a collapsed barn with flames licking the wood and a few houses with damaged walls or chimneys. As we made our way away from the well-traveled and well-maintained roadways there also appeared to have been damage to parts of the road. In some spots, it looked as if the road had cracked and been pushed up from underneath, while in other places the entire berm had collapsed and rolled down a hillside.
Ty made multiple turns onto different roads which kept us moving in the right direction. He seemed to know exactly where he was going without the aid of GPS or a map. Soon the houses thinned out, and the landscape was sprinkled with farms here and there. Fields had crops growing or animals grazing as if nothing unusual had occurred. Of course, nothing probably seemed uncommon at this point to the animals. Once the earth was done shaking they had most likely gone right back to their grass eating activities, unaware that the world they knew would soon come to an abrupt end.
Ty slowed as we approached the top of a big hill. There was no way to see what was on the other side and forests had been closing in the space around us. He slowed the truck to a stop.
“Something just doesn’t feel right about this. I’m going to get out and look. Stay here and lock the doors when I leave. The tinted windows will prevent anyone from being able to see you from outside. Have your gun out, and ready. I need you to back me up if there is something set up on the other side of this hill and they catch sight of me. Can you do that?” I nodded and gently kissed him as he got out of the truck. He whispered back over his shoulder, “Lock it,” as he closed the door quietly.
I locked the door and turned to watch Ty as he walked to Ben’s truck. Ben had remained inside, I assumed because he didn’t want to get out and do anything that Ty would consider wrong. I saw Ty talk to him for a moment or two before Ben slipped out of his truck with his shotgun in hand. Ty motioned for Ben to circle to the other side of the trucks. Once Ben was in position the two moved forward simultaneously. They slowly made their way forward and, from where I sat in the truck, I couldn’t hear a sound.
I watched them make their way up the hill, both trying to blend into the trees which lined each side of the road. I realized that, yet again, I was holding my breath. I forced myself to release it in a long, slow exhale. The breath holding is becoming an annoying habit, I thought to myself. One of these days I would probably pass out because I was holding my breath without being aware of it. When Ty and Ben got to where they could see over the hill, I saw Ty pause and slowly look around. He seemed to take his time and scan everywhere, the road ahead, the trees on both sides of the road, the area behind us, the horizon and even the sky. Finally, he motioned to Ben, and both walked out into the middle of the road at the top of the hill. They appeared to talk for a moment before turning and walking back to where the trucks were parked.
Ty approached my side of the truck, I unlocked the door and climbed down. He pulled me to him and gave me a big hug. I could feel how tense his body was and knew that the stress he was feeling was probably a hundred times more intense than mine. He would feel responsible for all of our safety. It was an enormous burden for him to carry.
“Does everything look okay,” I asked as I leaned into his arms and gazed up into his eyes. They were serious when he looked back down to meet my gaze.
“I can’t see anything of concern. It looks like we are going into a section of the road that is hilly and lined with trees. That’s not to be unexpected really, but it makes me a little nervous. We will have a series of these types of hills to go through, but I really want to stay on this road because it will take us to I-77, which we can then take to I-40. The hills are going to slow us down most likely because I intend to be cautious on each one. If I were trying to set a trap for someone, I would pick someplace like this. It’s an easy trap.”
“I trust your instincts completely. I will follow you wherever you say we need to go.”
We all got back into the trucks. Ty led the way slowly up and over the crest of the hill. His entire body was tense as we progressed. “Keep an eye out for anything that doesn’t look right. Even if you just feel like something isn’t right, you tell me. Okay?”
“Yes, I will be vigilant.” I didn’t take my eyes off the countryside that we were rolling through. The forest seemed to be quiet and nowhere did I see anything moving. It was like the world around us had been paused like a favorite television show when you are desperate for a snack in the middle of the most critical scene of the season. There were no birds to be seen soaring in the sky, no squirrels jumping from tree limb to tree limb. There didn’t even appear to be any movement of leaves on the trees.
Before we reached the top of the next hill, Ty stopped the truck again to repeat his safety check before we continued up the next incline. The process was repeated at each hill as we progressed. When we reached the top of the third hill, Ty did his usual scan of the area ahead but stood staring down at the road ahead longer than he had on the other hilltops. He just stood and stared down. I knew he wouldn’t stand there exposed like he was if it wasn’t safe. After what seemed like an inordinate amount of time, I decided that I would go to him to find out what he was seeing that was halting our progression. I carefully looked around before unlocking the truck and getting out. I quickly made my way up to the top of the hill as quietly as I could.
“Ty,” I whispered softly as I approached, not wanting to startle him. “What’s wrong?”
I walked to his side and slipped my hand into his. Looking over the hill, I tried to find what had caught his attention. As I gazed down the hill, I saw what appeared to be something large in the middle of the road blocking the way. “What is that?”
“I think that the earthquake caused a landslide which is blocking the road ahead. Damn it! We can’t go this way. We’re going to have to go back. What a waste of time!”
“It’s okay. We’ll turn around and go back. We’ll just find another way.”
“That’s the only option.” Ty sighed, and I knew that he was frustrated. “I knew we would run into delays, but I really was hoping we wouldn’t have to deal with them yet. There is nothing that we can do but turn around I guess. Standing here bitching about it isn’t going to help.”
We turned together and headed back to where the trucks were parked. Ben and Jules were out of their truck, waiting to see what was going on. When Ty explained the issue, Ben immediately began cursing and complaining.
“Shut it and get in your freaking truck. Turn it around and follow me. I do not want to hear any more complaining from you, or you can find your own way to someplace. I’ve got enough to deal with without adding your attitude to the list. Your choices are either help or shut up and follow. If you can’t do those, then go where ever you want as long as it isn’t with me. Got it?”
Ben put on his pissed off face and stomped off to get back into his truck. Once the trucks were turned around, we were ready to get back on the road.
Chapter Six
We backtracked down the road we had been traveling on, trying to make our way to the last exit ramp. Ty was hoping to find a way around the blockage that the landslide had created. We had crested the hill which we had last gone over and started back down the other side when I felt the shaking begin again. It felt worse to me this time around. Fortunately, we weren’t traveling that fast, and Ty was quickly able to bring the truck to a stop. Rather than telling me to get out, this time he insisted that I stay inside. We stopped not far from the top of the hill. If we went further down into the ravine, which the road followed between the two hills, rocks that were being knocked loose by the quake would put us in danger, Ty explained to me.
The shaking seemed to go on and on, increasing in intensity. I started to wonder if the world was going to shake itself apart. A noise, similar to the sound of thunder, caught my attention. Ty began maneuvering to get a better view of what was going on outside of the truck.
“Ty, what is that? Thunder?”
“No, it’s not thunder. Look.”
I looked out the window to where he was pointing and saw parts of the rocky hillside starting to fall. The rocks were tumbling down the hill. They were picking up speed and gathering in mass as they progressed. I couldn’t look away as the jumble of rocks and dirt made its way down the hillside. At some point, the earth stopped shaking, but I was too mesmerized by the chaos unfolding in front of us to notice. The entire mass eventually collided with the road at the bottom of the ravine, and a large cloud of dust flew into the air. When the dust settled, I could see that the road was completely blocked. We were trapped. I felt panic rising inside me. I looked at Ty and saw that he was simply sitting in the driver’s seat staring at the road below.
I tried to calm myself, but I couldn’t think of any way that we were going to be able to get around this new problem. We couldn’t turn around and go back, that way was blocked. We couldn’t go this way now because it was impassable as well. I could feel myself begin to hyperventilate, but there was no way I could stop it from happening. I was incapable of calming myself. The only thing I could think was that we were now trapped. We were stuck between these two hills. I couldn’t even force myself to look away from the enormous pile of rubble blocking our way, and I couldn’t breathe.
“Babe? Babe! Breathe!” A part of my brain heard Ty calling to me, but I couldn’t focus on him. I couldn’t think of anything except being trapped. I felt Ty gently turn me away from the window towards him. He filled my vision, and I wasn’t able to see the road below any longer. I could hear him talking to me in a calm and quiet voice. “Elli, focus on me. We have to get you calmed down. You have to breathe. Just focus on me and listen to my voice.”
He took my hand and placed it on his chest. I could feel the rise and fall of his breath under my hand. “Okay, try to match your breathing to mine. Listen to what I am telling you. I will get us out of here. This is a problem, yes, but it is not insurmountable. Do you trust me?”
I nodded slowly. I tried to focus my mind on Ty’s words and match my breathing to his. He continued to reassure me and slowly I was able to calm myself enough that I could draw an almost normal breath. After I was able to get a few normal breaths, Ty pulled me into his arms and held me close.
