It was going to be a long night.
Epilogue
Calm Before the Storm
Three days passed, and although raider trucks were frequently sighted in spots all around the town they never tried to attack.
Trev almost wished they would. This delay suggested a plan, and he didn’t like plans where dozens of heavily armed and likely well trained soldiers were concerned. But more importantly each day that passed brought him closer to the deadline and the Gold Bloc invading from the north. He felt the pressure to go after his family almost like a weight in his chest, threatening panic whenever he thought of what might be happening to them.
George and Clair Smith were sensible people, far more sensible than their son, and Trev trusted that if they were in danger they’d figure out the right thing to do. If there was a right thing. That was the problem, when this chaotic world following the Gulf refineries attack often didn’t have a good solution and no amount of planning or preparation was enough.
His parents might not be able to handle whatever was coming, and Trev couldn’t bear the thought of them being hurt. Of his siblings being hurt. His sister Linda, only a year younger than Alice and, like Alice, always trying to act older than she was. But still a kid at heart when it came to tickle fights with her brothers. And Jim, who always acted exactly his age of twelve, wanting to be included in activities for younger kids as well as for adults, and always disappointed when told he was too young or too old to do anything.
They needed their big brother. His parents needed their son. And he needed to find them. But he couldn’t, not while Aspen Hill was threatened.
At the moment he and Lewis were patrolling southeast of town, trying to get beyond where the trucks usually drove past so they could see if raiders were being dropped off and digging in at strategic positions, or even worse trying to sneak their way closer to town to pick off defenders.
They’d gone silently, doing their best to stay out of sight, but at the moment they’d determined that there were no enemies nearby and had paused inside a small copse of trees to rest and eat a bit.
As he gnawed on some tough venison jerky, which Lewis and Jane had made to preserve the meat they’d brought in as the days grew warmer, Trev glanced uncomfortably at his cousin. He’d danced around asking the pressing question for days now, which was made easier since Lewis had kept to himself most of the time.
“Are you okay?”
His cousin glanced over at him. “Sure. Why?”
Trev looked away. “I’m just wondering how you feel after taking out Ferris and Turner. I remember how I felt after we stopped those bandits from attacking Jane’s group last fall, and this is sort of the same thing.”
Lewis went back to staring ahead as he swallowed his own mouthful of jerky. “It felt like I was waiting in a concealed position at the top of a tall hill about 250 yards from the convoy when I heard that Turner had shot up the roadblock. Then when I saw that the raiders had serious explosives they were planning to use on the town I felt like I needed to make sure I was in a comfortable position to target the convoy with my .308, single Ferris and Turner out from the others, and shoot them both through the ocular cavity.”
“Oh.” Trev tried to sound casual as he took another bite. His cousin sounded calm enough, but Trev could tell from his voice that he was still a bit hung up about it.
Sure enough, after what had to have been at least five minutes Lewis spoke up quietly. “That’s why I pulled the trigger, because they’d already attacked the roadblock and were ready to do worse. But before then I spent hours lining up those shots, arguing myself back and forth about whether or not to take them. It’s only human, right? Ferris took away our lives, everything we’d worked for. Over three hundred of our neighbors in town starved this winter thanks to him.”
Trev nodded. “Believe me, I get it. If you doubt you took those shots for the right reasons or think they were unjustified I think you’re wrong on both counts. It was the right move.”
His cousin let out his breath slowly, although he seemed less troubled. They were both silent for about a minute before Trev finally stirred. “They were good shots, and I’m glad you were in a state of mind to make them.”
“Thanks.” Lewis turned to look east, towards the highway. “You need to go.”
“What?” Trev asked, blinking.
“Our family up in Michigan needs you as much as the town does, and they’re family. You need to go help them.”
Trev sighed. “This again?” Matt had been on his case going too, feeling guilty about keeping him there when his family needed him.
“I mean it. I think we both agree that one of us needs to stay here to help defend the town, and that’s probably me since I’m already involved in the fight and need to finish what I started. But if you’re going you need to go now. Matt’s right that with every day these raiders will close the net tighter and tighter around the town, making it harder to leave. You really should’ve left already.” His cousin caught his eye. “You still plan to go, right?”
Trev nodded without hesitation. “I have to. But it’s going to be harder without you.”
“Do you want me to go, then?” Lewis asked, sounding reluctant. “I did promise I would.”
“No, you’ve got the right reasons to stay, and I’d feel terrible if both of us ditched the town.” He sighed. “So I guess I’m going. What now?”
“Go get the better bike and your pack,” his cousin said. “I’ll keep this route clear for you until you get back.”
Nodding, Trev pulled Lewis into a fierce hug then melted out of the copse, moving quickly but carefully back towards town. An hour later he was bouncing awkwardly over bumpy ground on his bike while wearing his backpack and hauling a bit of cargo on the small rack above the back wheel.
In spite of the awkward balance he rode hard towards where Lewis had left him. The path they’d taken between hills was fairly well concealed, but visible as he was with the bike he had to favor speed over concealment. Still, he couldn’t help but feel an itch between his shoulder blades as if a bullet was about to embed itself there.
He didn’t see his cousin when he reached the copse, but he saw an arrow made of rocks pointing behind a nearby hill. Trev followed it, feeling a bit safer with the thought that Lewis was out there somewhere covering him with his G3. Behind the hill he saw another arrow pointing him due east towards the highway, and he followed that one as well.
A bit over ten minutes later he reached it, and after checking along it carefully for any sign of raider trucks he turned south towards Carbonville. The few conversations he and his cousin had had over the last few days had mostly focused on his route, and he’d agreed that his best bet was to take I-70 east almost to Grand Junction, then take smaller roads northeast across the Great Plains to Michigan. Luckily Lewis had been there to chart him a route that would keep him within arm’s reach of water and avoid population centers.
Biking took different leg muscles from walking or running, and Trev’s body started to complain after only a short while. But it was something he’d get used to along the trip. Just like he’d gotten used to everything else he’d had to do.
The important thing was he was going for his family, and it was his fervent hope that they’d be there when he arrived, safe and sound and ready to make the perilous, difficult journey back to Aspen Hill.
Which he hoped with equal fervency would still be there when he got back.