In spite of the situation Trev couldn’t help but smile again. “We’ve had this conversation, too.”
“And just like the other one this time things are completely different.” His cousin poked his head back into view. “They’re my family too, and this time we have someone to watch the shelter for us while we’re gone.”
“What about our garden?” Trev protested.
Matt poked his head into the room too, making things look a bit absurd. “We can take care of that. It’s the least we can do after everything you and Lewis have done for us.” He gave Trev a guilty look. “I feel like I should go with you after you went with me last time, but I can’t leave Sam.”
“No. Like Lewis said, this is different. I’ll be fine.”
“You mean we’ll be fine,” Lewis countered. “Admit it, you know that with the two of us together things have a much better chance of turning out okay.”
Trev could admit it. He’d been more than uncertain at the thought of trying to cross a huge chunk of the continent to reach his family, with no idea what route to take or what places would be dangerous to pass through. Having his cousin along made the trip seem a lot less daunting.
“Okay then,” he grinned at his cousin. “I’ll wait for you to pack.”
Lewis intercepted him at his wagon with another armful of stuff. “Come on, at least don’t be an idiot about this.”
For a moment Trev was confused. Was his cousin changing his mind? “Look, I said I’m going to go and I mea—”
“Not that,” Lewis interrupted impatiently. “That.” He pointed at Trev’s cart. “That thing was a pain work with and you know it. If we had to we could make do with just my wagon but I think we can do better.”
“Better?” Trev asked dubiously.
“Look, we’ll want to go fast so we don’t have to bring too much food. A wagon will let us carry more but it’ll also slow us down. What we need is bicycles with bike trailers. We’ll be able to travel faster than we can walk or even run a lot of the time, and we’ll be able to haul enough supplies to get us there and back with enough for your family.”
Trev was amazed he hadn’t thought of that. Lewis was right, that would solve a ton of their problems. “Any idea where we can find those?” He glanced around the shelter. “Let me guess, you’ve got a pair of top of the line bikes and trailers stowed away around here somewhere.”
His cousin smiled ruefully. “Not this time, unfortunately. But I know where we should be able to find what we need. I got the idea from hearing about how Ferris left, and he got his supplies from the town storehouse.”
That seemed like a good option. Trev nodded slowly as he glanced at his wagon… he really hated the thing. “Okay, let’s go.”
They set off for town together, leaving Matt to clean out the shipping container on his own. Most of the stuff was light enough for one person to carry, and their friend had no complaints with being saddled with the task, since it was for his own benefit.
In a way it felt almost odd to be walking through town with the intention of leaving. Trev knew there was a lot that needed to be done to get Aspen Hill back on its feet, and ideally he wanted the place still there when he got back with his family. He knew that Matt, Chauncey, Mayor Tillman, and others had been depending on him and his cousin to help with that, and he felt a bit bad about leaving it behind.
But he would.
By the time they got back into town it was past the time when Trev’s shift at the roadblocks would have ended, and they found Chauncey back in his usual place at the storehouse, guarding it with a few other men from the town. One of them was Ben, the refugee leader, who Trev had come to respect and even like over the last few weeks. Then again, he tended to like anyone who was willing to give any extra time to help the town, and Ben was certainly good about that.
Chauncey listened to their explanation, shaking his head slightly. “We could probably help you with bikes, although not good ones, but trailers are another issue entirely. Ferris took every single one to be found in the town, most brand new and still in the box out of Tillman’s Sporting Goods. I suppose I could ask around, or maybe we could contact one of the nearby towns and see if one is available for barter.”
Trev glanced at his cousin. “What would biking while wearing backpacks look like?”
“Ugly for balance, and we wouldn’t be able to carry nearly as much.” Lewis sighed and turned to Chauncey. “Can we take a look at the bikes?”
The older man nodded and motioned them towards the back room. “I’ll get on the radio and see if anyone’s got a trailer.”
They left him to it and headed into the backroom, checking over the selection of bikes. It was a bit pitiful, just as he’d warned, with only a few cheaper 10-speeds to go along with children’s bikes. Lewis suggested asking around town for anyone holding onto a better bike, but Trev didn’t have the patience for that with a possible deadline for the Gold Bloc invasion a week away. “We can make these work,” he insisted, motioning towards the two best bikes they’d found. “We’ll just bring what we need to repair them if there’s a problem.”
“If there’s a problem we can’t fix we’re down to one and a half bikes and we’re back to walking speed,” his cousin replied. “That’s why you go with quality equipment.”
In the end they agreed to take the bikes out to the shelter and pack up what they’d need. In the meantime there was a chance Chauncey would find something over the radio, and if worse came to worst they could always stop in Helper or Price, depending on the route they took, and look for something better there using some of Lewis’s coins to barter with.
On the plus side the trip back to the shelter was much faster. “Why haven’t we been using these all along?” Trev called as they zoomed up the dirt path towards the two hills.
“Lack of imagination?” his cousin called back. “No bikes in the days of the Wild West, and we got caught thinking we were living back then.”
“Well Matt at least should start using one. Think about how much time he’d save on walking that he could be using for better purposes.”
Back at the shelter the Larsons had gathered to give them a good sendoff, with hugs and well-wishing all around. While Trev stayed with the group to discuss matters with the garden and shelter while they were gone, Lewis disappeared to his nook where most of the stuff in the shelter that Ferris hadn’t taken had been piled while he was gone. He emerged with maps, including larger more detailed ones of each state, and began marking a couple suitable routes that would keep them off large roads and away from population centers.
Trev couldn’t help but notice that his cousin frequently referenced a logbook he’d made of all the news of the outside world he’d gotten from Chauncey or incoming refugees or heard over his radio. That more up-to-date info might mean the difference between life and death, and he once again found himself praising Lewis’s meticulous nature.
They had almost finished packing and Trev and Matt were looking at the bikes to see if they could figure out a way to rig the short rack over the back wheels to hold more luggage when his friend got a call on his radio and excused himself.
He came back less than a minute later and motioned for Trev to follow. “We’ve got a problem,” he said grimly, leading the way into the shelter and calling for everyone to come out and bring their weapons.
Trev followed, fighting down his alarm at his friend’s grim expression. “What is it?”
Matt was slow to answer, getting everyone out of the underground structure and locking it from the outside with the thick steel bar across the door and jamb. To keep anyone from locking them inside the structure while the door was shut they usually kept the padlock closed in the hasp so it couldn’t be used against them, but now he made sure it was securely on.