“Lewis?” Trev asked. “Or is our shelter in the path of some danger coming from the north?”
“No no, nothing like that.” Chauncey sighed. “You know the US had threatened to launch nukes if the Gold Bloc didn’t get their troops out of Canada within a month’s time, right?”
Trev nodded. “Saber rattling, you called it.”
“Yeah, well apparently I’m not the only one to think so. Word on the grapevine is that Russian troops are mobilizing along the border, near Toronto and Sault Ste. Marie. Alaska’s long since gone silent, you know, but word is that broadcasts out of the Yukon and British Columbia territories are being squelched as well. It could indicate a large movement of Chinese troops towards the US border, and ships have been sighted along the coast of California and New England. It’s all pointing to an invasion in the works.”
Realization dawned. “You mean my family in Michigan.” Trev tried to remember his geography. Sault Ste. Marie was along the Canadian border just north of Michigan, and Toronto was northeast of Detroit with a fairly major highway leading there. An invasion from either of those locations would almost certainly bring enemy troops close to his family’s house in Greenbush.
The older man nodded grimly. “The Gold Bloc seems to have called our bluff. They’re going to invade, probably within the next few weeks. I think they might even be planning to invade before the deadline for when they were supposed to withdraw from Canada in less than a week, just to further tweak our noses.”
Trev did his best to hide his alarm. “Have you been able to contact anyone in Greenbush?” Lewis hadn’t had any luck, but Chauncey had been on the radios longer and might have made contacts his cousin hadn’t.
“Sorry,” Chauncey said, shaking his head grimly. “There’s plenty of chatter from up there considering the imminent threat, but nobody’s heard anything specific about a Smith family living along the shore of Lake Huron. And all things considered no one’s got the time or patience to go and personally check it out just to do a favor for someone halfway across the country.”
In answer Trev pulled the radio from his belt. “Speaking of favors, could you take the rest of my shift?”
The retired teacher accepted the radio, although he gave Trev a stern look. “Don’t do anything rash, son.”
Trev thought of Betty Thornton. “I’m not going to wait until it’s too late to help them. I’ve felt more and more like I needed to find them with every passing month since the Gulf refineries attack.”
Chauncey sighed and held out his hand. “You know better than anyone why it’s a bad idea, but family is family. Travel safely.”
Nodding, he shook the man’s hand firmly in thanks and broke into a trot towards the shelter, trying not to let his rising worry turn to panic. He was only half successful and his trot became a sprint, which he was able to maintain for the few minutes it took him to reach home.
When he got there, staggering and panting like a bellows, he found Matt and Lewis manhandling the 50 gallon tank of gasoline out of the shed. “The guys who attacked this place used up less than I was afraid of,” his cousin was saying as he approached. “We’ve probably still got 25 gallons in there.”
“What’s going on?” Trev demanded. But in spite of his own agitation he couldn’t leave them to that kind of heavy lifting. So even though he was seriously winded and on the verge of collapse he came over and grabbed a corner, letting Matt gratefully shift to the other corner on his side so they could split the weight.
His friend was eating better and had gotten back a bit of his strength in the last few weeks, but that tank had to weigh a couple hundred pounds: on the other side Lewis was straining to hold up half the weight as they shuffled it over to where the back of the shipping container met up with the hill. There was no answer to his question until they’d finished lugging it and started to cover it with a tarp, partly to protect it from the elements but mostly to hide the container’s precious contents.
It was Matt who replied, looking a bit sheepish. “We’re going to move the stuff in the shed into the shelter and convert it into a living space. Once the gas fumes clear out, that is.”
“Oh, right.” They’d been talking about doing that. Frankly Trev was surprised they hadn’t already, although he supposed the lack of heating and the shipping container being less defensible were considerations. “Terry and April and the boys were going to move into it, right? Although you also mentioned having me and Lewis move so we could have our own space.”
His friend shifted awkwardly. “Actually everyone agreed me and Sam should have it.” At Trev’s confused look his face reddened a bit. “She’s been feeling a lot more energetic lately, and for that matter I have too. Between that and the good news with the baby it’s been almost like a second honeymoon. And you know we’ve been living in the shelter with the rest of the family ever since the wedding, and now that you guys are here…”
Ah. “Say no more. The newlyweds deserve to have a bit of privacy.”
Lewis nodded. “I figured you wouldn’t mind giving the shed to them. You didn’t seem to care about having the space when us moving out here was brought up.”
“No, it’s fine. Although I don’t really have a vote since I’m going to be leaving.”
His friend and cousin shared a concerned look. “Moving out?” Matt asked, frowning. “You never said anything.”
“I wouldn’t have, I just found out.” At their further confusion Trev took a deep breath, unable to keep his worry from showing. “I just finished talking with Chauncey and learned that the Gold Bloc is setting up to invade us from Canada. I’m going for my family.”
“Trev, this is crazy,” Lewis said, stepping in front of him as he walked to his terrible moving dolly wagon with another armful of his stuff. “The trip is suicide. Your family wouldn’t want that.”
“They might not want it, but they might need it,” Trev said firmly, stepping around his cousin to dump everything into the wagon. He knew from experience how unreliable it was on any sort of poor road, but it was what he had. “I listened when Dad told me to stay put last fall, and I trusted that they would be okay, but that didn’t stop me from worrying. Well now they’re in real danger, and whether they’re on the road or still at home under threat of attack they’re going to need my help.”
Lewis caught his arm as he went for another load. “You might not even find them there! They could be long gone, halfway here by now, and you’ll just be heading into danger yourself looking for them.”
“We had that same worry with April’s family.” Trev quirked his lips in a wan smile. “Actually we even had this same conversation, more or less. And the argument for going is the same then and now.”
“It’s not the same at all! You went a hundred and thirty or so miles and back to get them, this is almost ten times that distance. And through some of the worst locations in the country. Do you have any idea what kind of mess the area around Chicago’s going to be in after the winter we’ve had? Or Detroit? And will you follow the Interstate past other large cities along the way?” His cousin’s grip on his arm tightened. “Ten times the distance, Trev. And ten times more certainty with what I said when you went for Matt’s family. This is a bad idea, and if you leave you probably won’t make it back.”
Trev shook his arm free. “Why do you argue when you know I’m going to go anyways?”
“Good point.” Lewis sighed and disappeared through the curtain into his own partitioned room. “I guess I’ll have to come with you.”