Day 35
“We should’ve taken the pickup truck,” Rosemary said. It was the first words she’d spoken in hours. Herbert couldn’t remember her saying anything since they’d fled from the farm except grunts at the boys to keep them going, and keep them in front of her so she could see them at all times.
She’d been too quiet. Rosemary was loud. Obnoxious. Opinionated. Her being subdued and quiet had been a blessing, one Herbert felt had come to an end.
“How far along the road do you think we’d have gotten?” Herbert asked. He shook his head. “We stay down, we stay in the woods, and we walk out alive.” He glanced at the boys. “How’re you two holdin’ up?”
Both boys nodded but didn’t say a word. They were covered in dirt and sweat, and looked miserable. Herbert felt awful for what the boys had been put through. At least I’m an old man. I’ve pretty much seen it all. They have their entire lives ahead of them. What a shame, he thought.
Darlene was leading the group, thirty feet ahead, stopping every now and then to listen. She’d put a hand up and everyone knew to stop silently. After a few seconds she’d begin moving again and they’d keep following.
Herbert knew she’d heard or thought she’d heard something out of the ordinary. More than just animals around them.
Herbert had aimed Darlene in roughly a northeast direction. They might get lucky and find an old homestead no one had thought about, or get far enough away they’d be safe.
Chico was in the opposite direction, but the logical way out of town was by using the highways, even if they skirted them. Going so far north and east would take them over rougher terrain, but it offered them a lot of places to hide and would give their pursuers a lot of ground to cover. With or without wheels.
Herbert now worried his plan was a bad one, since he had the women and children. As if you can manage the rocky terrain, he thought.
It was slow going, and every now and then he thought he heard either a car engine or someone shooting a weapon. Either way, it could mean trouble for the group.
“How’s it going, kid?” Herbert asked Aiden when they stopped to rest. He knew he was overcompensating, trying to be especially nice to the boys, but he didn’t care. If anything happened to either of them… Herbert put the thought out of his head.
Aiden shrugged. “I wish I was back home with my friends.”
Herbert put on a smile he didn’t really feel. “I’m sure we’ll get back to normal sooner than you think.”
“No. We won’t.” Aiden closed his eyes. “This is the new normal. We’re hunted like dogs by people we thought we could trust. Our country is being attacked by another country.”
Herbert put a hand on the boy’s shoulder. “First off…I never trusted a Sawyer as far as I could throw him. Secondly…we have the most powerful military in the world. It might not look like much is going on right here, right now, but things are moving in the right direction. I wouldn’t be surprised to find somewhere safe to hole up for a few days and then hear on the radio we’ve taken care of our enemy. Swift justice, kid. Then we’ll be back to normal.”
They’d need to rebuild the homestead. If it all went back to normal, would the Sawyers pay for what they’d done? Herbert didn’t think so. They’d circle the wagons and swear they had nothing to do with the mass murder and torching the house. They’d also have enough witnesses to swear Buck and the rest were nowhere near the property at any point.
Herbert hoped his homeowner’s insurance was going to cover his losses. It was their house, their land, the only place he wanted to die on. But do it his way, peacefully in bed, with Pheebz telling him not to leave her.
The gas station was another absolute loss he didn’t want to think about, deal with just yet. Since it had gone down in flames, he hadn’t had time to really think about the implications. It was their income, but so much more. Herbert had put in so much blood, sweat and tears into it. He loved the locals visiting for gas, a candy bar and gossip. It was cheaper than the bars in Chico. More relaxed. The gas station was the local watering hole, where he’d sit for hours and talk about the weather or the damn hippies or a number of other things he couldn’t control, chatting between customers that could take a few hours to arrive.
So much waste, Herbert thought. He’d give up nights and weekends, holidays and special occasions to make sure they were good. Worked too many hours, some nights too tired to have a conversation with Pheebz before he passed out in front of the TV, his work ethic working against him. It had all been for nothing.
Darlene had been walking in the area around the perimeter. She came back and sat down next to Herbert just as Aiden got up to join his brother scratching in the dirt.
She looked tired to Herbert, hair pulled back and bags under her eyes. He noticed she favored her side when she sat down.
“How are you holding up?” Herbert asked.
Darlene shrugged. “I need a hot shower. A juicy cheeseburger and fries. A chocolate milkshake and a big slice of apple pie. A comfortable bed and twelve hours to close my eyes. You?”
“I’d rather have a ribeye grilled with some mushrooms and onions, but otherwise I’d join you.”
Darlene smiled. “You’re going to take a shower with me and then sleep in the same bed?”
Herbert felt his face get hot and he turned away, waving his hands violently. “No. Of course not. No. I didn’t mean…”
Darlene laughed. “Relax. I was kidding around.”
Herbert nodded but couldn’t think of anything else to say. It had gotten awkward, even though he knew she was joking.
“What are your plans?” Darlene asked.
“We find somewhere safe.”
Darlene shook her head. “After that. Long-term plans. Are you going to stay in California?”
“It’s all I know. Why would I want to leave my home?” Herbert smiled. “Besides the fact the neighbors tried to kill me and my family, burned my house to the ground, and killed a lot of friends I’ve known forever? Or that, by the time this is all said and done, most of the homesteads might be put to the torch, all of the crops burned and the farm animals slaughtered? It’s all I know.”
“We should start heading east at some point,” Darlene said. “I have a family cabin in Colorado. Way off the grid. It has its own well. Solar panels. Plenty of canned food, weapons and a thriving deer population. Me and my cousins used to practice with bow and arrow, too. I got pretty good at it. We’d live off the land for years and no one would ever find us unless they knew where to look.”
“That does sound nice.” Herbert looked over at Pheebz and Rosemary, talking quietly. Terri was seated a few feet away from them but she looked like she was sleeping. “I’m not sure they’ll make it all the way to Colorado, though.”
Darlene stood and extended her hand out. “Of course they will. We’ll all make it. One step at a time. We just need to start heading in that direction.”
Herbert didn’t take her hand, knowing she was still hurting. He stood and wiped his dirty face with his dirty hands. “We can’t take the highways or back roads, though. It might make more sense to stick to the plan and find somewhere safe first. Evaluate our position and then plan the move to Colorado.”
Darlene nodded. “You might be right. Cut this trip into smaller pieces so we can all manage it better. Agreed. Do you have a destination in mind for this part of the journey?”
Herbert sighed. “We move in the same basic direction we’ve been headed, and cross our fingers we find food, water, supplies, ammo and a roof over our heads. Not asking for too much.”