“You alright?” Sutherland said.
“Fine, Sir.”
“You sure?”
“Yes, Sir.”
Sutherland sighed and looked back at the road. They were getting close to Pierre, the last sign said thirty miles, and Wheeler hadn’t said a word to him since they left.
“Well, if you want to talk this is the time to do it. We are about to hit Pierre and I’ve got no idea what that’s going to bring.”
Sutherland tried to picture the map Rodgers showed him before they left. The bunker was on the south side of Pierre and the best way to get there was driving right through the middle of Pierre and heading south. He knew it could potentially be dangerous, but they had already been delayed several days and couldn’t take any more time to figure out a safer alternate route.
“I… I don’t know,” Wheeler said.
“Are you thinking about Nancy?”
Sutherland glanced over as Wheeler nodded.
“I get it,” Sutherland said. “I miss my wife and my daughter. They are my world and I haven’t seen them since the morning of the attack.”
“Are they…?”
“I don’t know. I really don’t. A team is supposed to be looking for them, but I’m not sure. I have to believe they are still alive… the possibility of seeing them again is really the only thing that keeps me going.”
“I hope they’re safe.”
“Me too.”
There was an orange glow on the horizon as they reached Pierre. Sutherland couldn’t tell what it was, but it became clear as they came within a few miles of the city. There were massive structure fires on the edge of the city. Sutherland stopped the truck and took a deep breath. He looked down at the gas gauge. They had less than a quarter of a tank. They could turn around and head south. He knew there had to be another bridge over the Missouri, but he didn’t know if they would have enough gas to make it.
“You ready?” Sutherland said.
“Yes, Sir.”
He shook his head and started to drive again. Sutherland didn’t slow down as they reached the city. There were a few buildings on fire near the road, but the rest of what he figured used to be businesses had already been burned to the ground. He was aghast that Americans had turned on each so quickly, even in a small community like Pierre.
Sutherland spotted the bridge and turned right as they got closer. There were abandoned cars, many of which had also been burned, but so far they hadn’t seen anyone. Sutherland looked around as they reached the bridge. He was starting to feel uneasy… they were in a city of upwards of ten thousand and there wasn’t a soul on the streets.
The bridge was nothing remarkable, just two lanes on each side separated by a concrete barricade. The Missouri rushed by just feet beneath them as Sutherland drove down the middle of the two lanes.
“Look,” Wheeler said.
Sutherland looked to the far end of the bridge as they reached the middle. There were four people pushing a car from the other side of the bridge. It came to a stop, blocking both of the lanes they were in. The four people jumped the guardrail and ran toward a brown building to the left of the road.
A quick glance in his rearview mirror confirmed what Sutherland had feared. A car had been rolled out behind them and they were trapped on the bridge. It was a well orchestrated blockade by the people who controlled the bridge and they had trapped Sutherland and Wheeler.
“What are we going to do, Sir?”
“I’m not sure….”
Sutherland slowed down as they got closer to the car. It was a small sedan and they were in a truck built like a tank, but Sutherland had already dismissed the idea of trying to speed up and smash into the car. He knew either way was a risk… he just hoped he made the right choice.
Three people with rifles climbed over the guard rail and stood behind the car as Sutherland brought the truck to a complete stop a few feet away. One moved around either end of the car, with the man in the middle keeping his rifle aimed at Sutherland.
Sutherland rolled down his window and Wheeler did the same as a man approached each widow with his gun pointed at them.
“What supplies you got?”
Sutherland looked at the man who had spoken and was standing just a few feet away from his window. He didn’t think the man knew how to use the rifle based on the relaxed and wobbly nature of his grip on the weapon, but Sutherland didn’t want to test him.
“We don’t have much of anything… we just want to pass through and be on our way.”
“Throw whatever you got out the window and we will see.”
Sutherland looked over at Wheeler and nodded. Wheeler grabbed the pack at his feet and pushed it out the window. The man on his side of the car picked it up and carried it back to the man behind the car. They put the pack on the hood of the car and rummaged through it.
“Can we go?” Sutherland said.
The man looked over at the two other men for some sign. They shook their heads and pointed at the truck. Sutherland knew what the man was about to say before he even opened his mouth.
“Get out of the truck.”
Sutherland turned his head slightly toward Wheeler and nodded. Wheeler nodded back and took a deep breath. Sutherland turned the wheel and smashed the gas pedal down. They both ducked as two rifle shots rang out. The bullets tore through the windshield and out the back window of the truck, but missed them. The truck smashed into the car and Sutherland heard a scream.
He glanced over at the mirror on his door and saw the man running at him. Sutherland threw the truck in reverse, pushed his foot down and threw open his door. The move caught the man off guard and the open door slammed into him before he could react. Sutherland put the brakes on and threw the truck into park. He jumped out of the cab and picked up the rifle. He tossed it to Wheeler, who instantly raised it to his shoulder as he leaned out the open window.
Sutherland saw the bodies of the other two men… when he hit the car it had moved enough that it knocked them down and they weren’t moving. He looked toward the brown building and saw three people with rifles running toward them.
He put the truck back in drive and pushed the parked car out of the way and mashed the pedal to the floor as they moved clear of it. Sutherland looked to his left as one of the men fired while running. The shot went wide, but it was close enough
As the road curved left Wheeler swung a leg out of the window and turned his body so he could aim over the top of the truck at the men who were still chasing them.
“Hold your fire!”
He didn’t yell the command quickly enough. The crack of Wheeler’s rifle rang out and Sutherland saw one of the men drop instantly. Wheeler got back in the cab and rolled his window up.
Neither man spoke as they quickly sped through the rest of Pierre. They both knew what Wheeler had done wasn’t necessary, but Sutherland knew why he did it—he was a soldier and he was thinking about doing everything he could to protect himself.
They were out of Pierre in the next few minutes and Sutherland finally felt like he could breathe again. He tried to clear his mind as they drove toward the bunker. He had no idea what to expect when they got there and he needed to be mentally prepared.
Sutherland slowed down as they reached the first intersection and turned left onto the aptly named Warcreek Road. The trucked bounced as they left the pavement and turned onto the dirt road. He glanced down at the mileage of the truck and made note of it.
“How far do we have?” Wheeler said.
“The road is about two miles.”
Sutherland looked down at the dash and brought the truck to a stop as they reached where the road should have been. He looked left and right, but there didn’t seem to be any sign of a road.
“This is where Rodgers said it should be….”
Sutherland sighed and closed his eyes as he tried to remember exactly what she had said. He traced the route in his mind and didn’t notice any differences between what she said and where they went.
“I think there’s something to the right… out in that field.”
Sutherland looked and strained his eyes trying to see something. He finally saw some movement out in the field… which looked like a person walking in their direction.
“Don’t forget,” Sutherland said, “the last we heard was District Four was under attack, so we have to assume there are hostiles around… including whoever that is walking this way.”
Wheeler nodded as he put the rifle on the floor of the truck. They both knew it would be best to come across as friendly and react based on how the man. Sutherland kept the truck in drive just in case and waited as the man walked closer.
Sutherland noticed the man had a pistol in a holster and his right hand was resting on it. Wheeler rolled down his window as the man slowly approached the truck.
“Who sent you?”
“Jones,” Sutherland said, without hesitating.
The man nodded and pulled his hand off his pistol.
“Excellent… he said he’d send a few more guys.”
“That’s us.”
“You’re a little late though… we just took the bunker.”
Sutherland nodded and smiled to hide his true feelings. He knew if he tried to leave the man would know something was off.
“Shoot… we thought we’d seen some action,” Wheeler said.
The man shrugged and walked toward the back of the truck. He jumped into the bed and smacked the top of the cab.
“Let’s go.”
Sutherland turned the wheel of the truck and drove in the direction from which the man came. The field was grassy and dry with a few small hills, but nothing that slowed their progress. Sutherland spotted the bunker as they crested the top of one of the small hills. In the next dip in the land there was a barn, in the middle of nowhere, and the doors of it were wide open.
Sutherland stopped the truck and parked next to one of the other vehicles near the barn. They got out and Wheeler looked at Sutherland to see if he should bring the rifle, but Sutherland shook his head and Wheeler left it where it was.
There were men milling around the barn, many of them with bandages on various body parts. Sutherland shook his head as they followed the man toward the entrance of the barn—there had been a vicious battle here and they hadn’t arrived in time to help.
Sutherland saw a wide flight of stairs in the middle of the barn floor that was the main entrance to the bunker. He heard running behind him and tried to turn around, but it was too late. The butt of a rifle came down on the back of Wheeler and Sutherland’s heads and they both collapsed.