The older woman frowned. “How can they manage that? We’re having trouble just feeding ourselves.”
The officer shrugged. “Well Price’s guy on the radio claimed a convoy of food trucks coming up from the south ran out of gas ten or so miles out of town, which helped, but the truth is they’re not managing. Price is practically begging hat in hand for any food or other aid Aspen Hill can send. Mayor Anderson personally got on the radio to refuse, and let me tell you if they were pissed at us for turning away our own refugees they’re foaming at the mouth about us refusing to help them.”
He paused as if thinking about it, then shook his head. “Looks like your husband and those cousins at the town meeting had the right idea when it came to turning away refugees. From the sound of things the towns south of us are going to be in some real trouble within the next few weeks, if not sooner. I just hope they can figure it out without dragging us into it. The guy on the radio mentioned that a lot of the refugees we turned away have made their way down there and are talking nonstop about how greedy Aspen Hill is to anyone who’ll listen.”
“Well if it’s greedy to not share what you can’t spare then generous sounds a lot like stupid,” Mona said with a sniff. “Glad the Mayor had the sense to say no, and I hope it stays the most used word in his vocabulary.”
“Still, I feel bad for the folks down there,” Turner replied, scratching his stubbly chin. He had the good beginnings of a beard going, which made his face seem a lot less round. “They don’t have the benefit of a naturally flowing spring like we do here so clean water is an issue for them. They were in a better situation fuel-wise starting out than we were, and they’ve done a good job gathering and hoarding all they could, but most of their what they’ve got is going to keeping the water purification and pumping stations operating to meet the area’s water supply. Word on the radio is that they’ve actually cut power lines to keep people from drawing electricity, keeping just a few key buildings open for citizens to draw power from for vital services like washing clothes or gathering for social visits or just to have light to read by and do other stuff. They’ve been going with almost nothing for a lot longer just to reach where we’re at with our spring.”
“We don’t have electricity either, though,” Sam pointed out.
Turner glanced at her. “Well yeah, but for us it’s just a major inconvenience. Once the towns farther south run out of power they’re going to have the worst time getting the potable water they need, and that’s resources and effort they’ll have to divert from finding food. Add thousands or even tens of thousands of refugees into the mix and they’re going to be in real trouble in no time flat.”
A heavy silence fell as they all considered the grim situation. Then Mona abruptly shook her head. “Well I think that’s enough doom and gloom for one day. Lots of work to be done, and I wouldn’t mind finishing hauling this water home sooner instead of later. I’m not a sturdy young lady like you anymore, Sam. Good afternoon, Officer Turner.”
Sam smiled at the comment as she followed Matt’s mom back to the spring and with some work got the strap around her shoulders and picked up the heavy jugs. People might call her petite, or less politely short, but she couldn’t think of any time she’d ever been called sturdy.
But whatever physical challenges she had to face, she’d meet them head on and find a way to overcome them. This was the world she lived in now and she wasn’t going to let it get the best of her.
The farther north Trev and Matt went the more refugees they encountered going the same direction as them.
Of course even going at a steady walk they outpaced the others on the road, most of whom were bedraggled, exhausted looking, and usually carrying bundles of possessions or pulling wagons or luggage loaded up with whatever they thought was worth taking with them. Everyone seemed so intent on putting one foot in front of the other that even within groups of people there wasn’t much talking, and anyone not part of the group was viewed with suspicion if they came close.
Trev had felt hungry when they woke up, but once they started walking the feeling diminished for some reason, and while he felt a bit more tired than usual the simple act of putting one foot in front of the other was still fairly straightforward. They kept going at about the same pace, and with one plodding step after another passed through Utah Valley and eventually put it behind them.
Which was a relief since as bad as the glow of fires last night had been the sign of the devastation in daylight was even worse. They could see wildfires burning unchecked in the foothills above Provo, spread from the blazes below, and huge swathes of buildings were blackened husks. There was also an acrid tinge of smoke to the air that made him reach for his water bottle more often than usual, as much to wash the taste away as out of thirst.
Aside from the roadblocks on the streets leading to the interstate Trev didn’t see a single sign of life in that ruin, although they had heard distant pops of gunfire from somewhere in that direction earlier in the morning. At the sound of it all the refugees ducked their heads and walked a little faster, and Trev and Matt did the same.
By the time they reached Thanksgiving Point in the early afternoon, roughly half of the remaining distance to Midvale, there were nearly as many refugees heading north as south. The FETF patrols had separated the two streams of humanity onto their own sides of the highway as if they were still following traffic laws, and either through habit or because most people huddled in the right lanes to stay farther from the armed soldiers Matt and Trev found themselves passing everyone in the left lane. Matt even made a lame attempt to start using bicycle turn signals when they had to leave the lane for some reason, although Trev had a hard time appreciating the attempt at humor.
At this point he was definitely feeling weaker than he had during the previous days of walking, but either because his body was in starvation mode or because of the exercise the building hunger remained in the background, barely noticed. Still, he hoped April and her family were waiting at their house with all their food storage.
The lack of meals was starting to take its toll, and even though they tried slowing down they still ended up having to take short breaks to rest every hour or so through the late afternoon. Matt was still also doing his best to check everyone’s faces for any signs of his family, and if the FETF patrols had allowed it Trev was sure he would’ve walked on the other side of the highway to ask refugees if they had any news. Between those two factors they didn’t reach Midvale until the sun was about to set.
After yesterday’s experience at the roadblock Trev didn’t bother with an off ramp. Instead he led the way to about the point where Matt said his sister’s house would be two or three miles due east of them. Then, after checking to make sure no FETF patrols were nearby and they weren’t in sight of any of the fortified law enforcement emplacements, Trev purposefully walked off the Interstate with no sign of furtiveness. Nobody tried to stop them or even call after them as they walked right up to the thick noise-canceling concrete partition, where with a boost from Matt Trev made it to the top then helped his friend over.
They found themselves in a backyard and both crouched silently, alert for any signs of dogs or movement within the house. After waiting long enough to be confident they were probably safe Trev pulled out the can of bear spray he’d got from Matt and checked to make sure it was ready to fire, then put it back in his pocket and tried drawing and aiming it a few times.
His friend watched, amused. “Dry fire practice with pepper spray?”
“Easy to make mistakes when you’re panicking. Had a problem with that when Nelson tried to mug me.” Trev pocketed the spray a final time and started cautiously towards the house, talking over his shoulder. “From now on we stick to cover, we don’t talk unless absolutely necessary and try not to make any more noise than we have to, and we keep our eyes and ears peeled. Things don’t look quite as bad here as they did down in Utah Valley, but in a way that could be even worse: people wouldn’t have any reason to stick around burned down buildings but they might still be lurking here.”