Kyle looked up and said, “Jackpot!” as he shifted his weight to move back from the cabinet door, revealing the bounty of food.
Robert quickly leaned over and gestured a thumbs-up sign. Robert checked on Richard to see what he was putting in his pillowcases. It was doughnuts, pastries, and packets of jelly. “Dump that crap out,” Robert said, as he pointed to Richard’s pillowcase. Richard put his hand on the pillowcase and stared back at Robert. He was clutching the bag as if it was a precious treasure. Robert snatched the pillowcase full of junk from Richard’s hands and said, “Go to the front desk and get as much bottled water and trail mix as you can. Grab a map. Kyle and I will finish in here.” Robert walked to the large trashcan and dumped the junk out of the pillowcase, shaking it to remove the crumbs.
Richard approached the front desk with his remaining pillowcase and noticed that the night clerk was still there, still alone. He was sitting back away from the counter in a chair. His head was leaned back, eyes closed, and there was drool on the corner of his mouth. Richard politely coughed and when that did not wake the clerk, he tapped the bell on the counter. The clerk was startled awake and jumped out of the chair, embarrassed.
“Hi. I would like to pick up a few things you have back there,” said Richard.
“Sure, what would you like?”
“I am interested in the bottled water and the bags of trail mix.”
The clerk quickly set a bag of the trail mix and a bottle of water on the counter and asked, “Anything else, sir?”
“Yes, there is. I actually want all of them.”
“You mean all of the bags of trail mix and bottles of water? It would be a lot cheaper to get this at the grocery store around the corner.”
“That’s okay,” said Richard, as he put his credit card on the counter, “something came up. We decided to have a company retreat and go camping. If we’re going to rough it, we might as well do it the right way, in the woods.”
“Okay, I will have to write your information down and run the card when the power comes back on.”
“I understand,” Richard said, as he slid the card closer to the clerk. The clerk was too tired to notice Robert and Kyle walking out of the breakfast area, past the front desk, and out the front doors of the hotel carrying pillowcases stuffed with food. When all the pillowcases and luggage were at the front of the hotel, Robert and Kyle stood at the entrance and motioned for Richard to come out.
Carrying a case of bottled water toward his coworkers, Richard said, “I was able to get the other stuff sitting on the counter. I need a hand with it all.”
Not missing their cue, Robert and Kyle went to the counter and grabbed the results of Richard’s shopping extravaganza. Richard was able to get the hotel’s entire remaining inventory of bottled water and trail mix.
“Nice work, Richard,” Kyle said, as he carried his armload to the bed of the pickup. “Let’s get this stuff in the truck and find Lee’s brother to drive us out of here.”
Robert was finished loading first and told the others to stay by the truck. He would jog past the maintenance room, then around the hotel to see where Lee and his brother were. Robert felt awkward dashing into the hotel wearing a suit and dress shoes. He slowed his pace and calmly walked down the hallway. Robert noticed that the door to the maintenance room was open, so he stepped halfway into that room. It was dark in the windowless room. Robert’s hand reflexively rose to the light switch on the wall. His wrist flicked and the switch toggled upward. As he heard the empty click, he realized what a foolish gesture this was, and laughed at himself as he turned away from the empty room to exit the building at the end of the hallway. Robert looked quickly to the left and right through the clear glass door at the back of the hotel before he opened it and stepped outside. Under a large shade tree, he saw their driver and his brother talking.
“Ready when you are,” Robert said, as he waved to get their attention.
The men quickly gestured back to him, motioning for Robert to come over. Lee pointed away from the hotel toward a nearby intersection. He told Robert they had seen a carjacking, and described what they had witnessed. The sound of an old car engine had caught their attention. As the car slowly approached the intersection, two men stepped into the street and waved their hands as if for the car to stop, which it did. One of the men approached the driver, pulled a pistol from under his shirt, and pointed it at the driver’s head. The driver raised his hands and the armed gunman opened the door for the driver to exit. The gunman motioned for the owner to run away, which he did. The carjackers drove north, toward the highway.
“Sounds scary, mister…?” Robert said, as he paused to finally get their driver’s name.
“Call me Chet,” he said, shaking Robert’s hand.
“Did they see you two?” Robert asked.
Lee replied, “Nope, we were behind this tree.” Lee looked around. ”Let’s get out of here.”
All five men gathered at the truck. The brothers also explained to Kyle and Richard about the carjacking they had seen. Chet directed his brother to push the seat forward, get the rifle out, and be ready to use it. Lee slid the deer rifle out of the camouflage case that his brother had hidden behind the truck’s seat. The dark brown walnut stock of the rifle was polished and shiny. The dark wood complimented the hue of the gunmetal. The rifle looked like a work of art. Lee firmly gripped the rifle in his hands and nodded, thankful to have the weapon with him. He grabbed the cold metal of the rifle’s barrel, felt it warm to his touch, and said, “There will be no more carjackers today.” As the brothers settled into the cab of the truck, Robert, Kyle, and Richard climbed into the truck’s bed.
“Robert,” Richard said, as he tried to shift his weight on the suitcase to get a comfortable position, “your plan better work.”
“Or what?” Robert asked, tilting his forehead toward Richard and lifting an eyebrow.
Richard replied, revealing a hint of fear in his voice. “If we can’t obtain the equipment to get on the river, we’re as good as dead. Chet’s not going to drive me to St. Louis.” Richard paused. “Robert, I don’t want to die.”
Robert thought for a moment before replying. “I’m not going to die. I’m a survivor. Nothing is going to get between me and my family—” Robert said, as he was cut off by the jolt of the old truck engaging into first gear.
The truck sluggishly accelerated out of the hotel parking lot and onto the adjacent road. The men observed their surroundings in silence. Some cars were still in the correct lane in the street, while others appeared to have been pushed to the side. It was strange to see so many stalled cars on the road. On this late morning, people were walking down the sidewalks or using bicycles to get around. A few of the people appeared to be greatly fatigued from having to walk, red faced and panting from lack of exercise. Robert suspected that some of them had been stranded on the highway and were now walking into town looking for help.
Chet cautiously approached a four-way stop next to a convenience store. There was a sign in the store’s front window written in capital letters, CASH ONLY. Chet’s truck was getting attention from a small group of men near the convenience store parking lot. As Chet passed the intersection, the men stepped into the street, blocking the path of the truck. A man stepped forward from the group and positioned himself closer to Chet’s truck. He was a bearded man with long hair and dark sunglasses, wearing worn jeans, a dirty shirt, and leather vest. His leather boots had capped metal toes. Those boots would be perfect to kick with in a fight. Chet stopped the truck to maintain his distance from the men. Robert pointed to a tire iron and baseball bat near the tailgate of the truck and nodded to Kyle, knowing that they could not expect Richard to join the fight.