Another 20 Miles Read online

  "Hi, Ron, right? My name is Joel Chambers. I'm a friend of Teddy's. He'd like to speak to you for a minute, if you could come over." Joel had extended his hand to the man as he spoke. Ron accepted the handshake.

  "Sure, let me get my coat." Ron disappeared inside and returned after a moment calling out, "Honey, I'm going over to Teddy's for a minute. Be right back."

  From inside, Joel heard a female voice answer, "Okay, tell him hi for me."

  Slipping his coat on, he stepped out onto the small porch, which Joel noticed was cleared of snow, along with the path leading to the driveway.

  "You may be the only person who's taken the time to shovel their walk in this situation," he remarked as they stepped off into the grass. Ron laughed.

  "Yeah, I guess old habits are hard to break. No power, no water, but by God the walk is clear!" Joel joined him in the humor. After just a second, he became serious.

  "Before we get over there, Ron, I wanted to let you know that Teddy probably won't be alive much longer. He was in pretty bad shape when we got there this morning. It was a mess, literally. We got him cleaned up and got a little food in him, and I do mean little. We started a fire in the fireplace and he's doing okay right now. The problem is he only has one full oxygen tank after the one he's on which is almost empty. Once that's gone, he'll suffocate to death."

  Ron stopped and stared at Joel. "Dear God, that's awful. There's nothing that can be done?"

  "Not now, not with what's happened," Joel replied, shaking his head. "I offered to try to find some more oxygen tanks, but he said no. I was hoping you could check on him, maybe tonight or tomorrow? I don't think we can build a fire that will burn long unattended. He hasn't eaten since Saturday so he's very weak. I doubt he'll be able to feed it."

  "Sure, I'll come check on him this evening and tomorrow. It's not like I gotta go to work or anything. Or that I could even get to work."

  Joel smiled. "That would be great. I won't be able to come back when I leave here in just a few minutes, so I'm happy someone will keep an eye on him." They had reached the door to Teddy's house. "Come on in. Teddy's in the living room."

  Joel had closed the door to Teddy's bedroom earlier, so the smell was not permeating the rest of the house. They walked into what was now a cozy room. Teddy waved at his neighbor. Joel introduced Will and Amanda.

  "Come in, Ron," Teddy said. "Snuggle up to the fire here."

  "Thanks, Teddy. It's real comfy in here. Joel said you wanted to see me?"

  "Yep. I'm guessing he filled you in on what's going to happen here in the next few days … to me, that is."

  Ron nodded, solemn. "He did. I'm with Joel though. I bet we could go out and find some tanks —"

  Teddy interrupted him. "I'll tell you like I told him. I ain't in no shape to make it through this. There's no telling how long it's going to take to get everything back on. If you did find more O2, it would just prolong it. No, I'm ready to just go ahead and go. The reason I wanted to talk to you is when I'm gone, I want you to take everything out of here you can use. Food, bathroom stuff, anything. And I've got these for you." Teddy motioned to the chair behind him. When Ron saw the guns, his eyes went wide.

  "Oh, no, Teddy, I can't take those. I have kids! Someone could get hurt!"

  "I'm pretty sure someone will get hurt if you don't take them," Teddy replied.

  "What do you mean?"

  "There's gonna be bad people out there, Ron. Bad people who want to take your stuff and possibly hurt your wife and kids. They'll most likely have guns. How are you going to stop them if you don't have one, too?" Teddy posed the question then waited for his response. He could see the man struggling with it.

  "But I don't know anything about guns. I haven't shot one since I was a kid, and that was a BB gun. I'd probably shoot myself."

  Teddy smiled. "I'm not dead yet. We'll spend some time this afternoon, after these guys get gone, and tomorrow going over the basics. You've been a good neighbor, Ron, and I want to do what I can to help you protect your family."

  Hesitant, Ron nodded. "Okay, Teddy. Thank you."

  "You're welcome." He turned to Joel. "Well, I guess it's about time you get on your way."

  Joel squatted down beside his friend. "Are you absolutely sure you won't come with us?"

  Teddy patted Joel on the arm with a shaky hand. "Yes. Go get your family somewhere safer than here. You'll go today?"

  "Today or tomorrow. I’m not sure how long it will take to get everything we can loaded. I'm not even sure what we can take with us."

  "You'll figure it out. Now get out of here. And thank you … for earlier."

  Joel's eyes grew wide. "Oh, I didn't get the linens out. Let me just —"

  Teddy stopped him. "I'm not going back in there. Leave it."

  "No! Let me at least throw them in the tub."

  Teddy shook his head firmly. "Nope. Get out of here. I mean it."

  Joel stood up, tears falling in silence down his face. "I can't thank you enough, Teddy. For everything. You may have saved my family's lives. You're a good, good friend. I'll never forget you." He leaned over and hugged Teddy. When he straightened back up, Teddy had tears in his eyes as well.

  "You're welcome. I'm glad I could be of some use before I go. Good luck. Be safe." His tone was dismissive, as if he didn't want to talk about it anymore, so Joel and Will headed for the door to the backyard. Amanda went to Teddy, leaned over and kissed him on the lips.

  "I'll never forget you either, Teddy. Thank you, sweet man."

  A slight blush colored his pale cheeks. He smiled at her. "You're welcome, beautiful. Take care of them."

  She nodded and turned to follow the men. They went out the door; Amanda and Joel headed to the shed while Will went to the gate. Ron watched them from inside.

  "Where are they going? How are they leaving from the back yard?" He asked, confusion apparent in his tone.

  Teddy smiled. "You'll see. I gave them something special."

  Will swung the gates open as Joel started the Scout. Ron's eyes grew wide at the sound of the engine.

  "You have a car that runs? How?"

  Still smiling, Teddy replied, "She's old. No computers or electronics."

  They watched as Joel slowly pulled the car out of the shed. Amanda closed the doors and jumped in the Scout. Will waved them through the gate. As soon as they had cleared it, he closed it back, waving to Teddy and Ron before shutting it all the way. They heard the door slam, then the sound of the engine getting further away.

  "That was a huge thing to give them, Teddy. You probably changed their lives."

  Teddy nodded. "I sure hope so."

  When Frank, Jerry, and Craig heard the car's engine for the second time, they started running toward the sound. As they rounded the corner, they saw the back end of the Scout headed across the field beside the pond.

  "Son of a bitch! We missed them! Where'd they come from?"

  Frank traced the tracks left by the Scout's tires back to the house directly behind them. "There." He started toward the house. Jerry reached out and grabbed his arm.

  "What are you fixin' to do?"

  Frank snatched his arm away and continued to the front door. "Introduce myself to the neighbors."

  "Shit," Craig said under his breath. He and Jerry followed Frank to the door. Frank banged on the door.

  "Hello! Anybody home?" He leaned over and tried to peer in the window, but the blinds were closed. Just as he was about to knock again, the door opened a slight bit.

  "Oh, hi there, neighbor. We're just going around the area checking on people. We heard the car that just left here and wondered if anyone was still here. I'm Frank, by the way. These are my buddies, Jerry and Craig. And you are?"

  The man hesitated a moment before replying. "Ron. I don't think I've seen you before. You say you live close?"

  "Well, a couple of streets over. To be honest, we're trying to find houses where no one is home. We don't have a lot in the way of supplies, being bachelor
s and all, so we're trying to round some up. I don't guess you have any you can spare, do you?"

  Ron shook his head. "No, and I doubt anyone will. Are you breaking into people's homes if there's no one there? That's stealing."

  Frank shrugged. "If no one's home, they probably aren't coming back. Might as well get whatever is worth getting for those of us who are left." Frank tried to peer around Ron into the house. "So, you live here by yourself?"

  Ron pulled the door in more to block the view of the interior. "No, this isn't my house. It's my friend, Teddy's. I just came over to check on him. I live next door."

  "Oh? There or over there?" Frank indicated the house to his left then his right with his head.

  Ron pointed to Frank's left. "That one." Ron seemed more nervous the longer they talked.

  "Ah, gotcha. So, Teddy's here by himself then? Maybe we should talk to him, since this is his house." Frank started applying gentle pressure to the door. In an instant, it was snatched open. Frank stumbled forward, into the barrel of a shotgun held by a man in a wheelchair.

  "No, Teddy is not here by himself. He has his friends with him. You don't want to meet his friends. You need to move along, now!"

  Frank righted himself and held his hands up as Jerry and Craig shuffled backwards off the porch. "Hey now, no need to get violent. Like I said, we're just checking on our neighbors."

  Teddy squinted at him. "I've lived here for twenty odd years and I've never seen you before, so I reckon you ain't one of our neighbors. Just get out of here before I make it so you can't!"

  Hands still raised, Frank backed down the steps keeping his eye on Teddy and the shotgun. "No problem, Teddy. Sorry we bothered you. We'll be on our way." Joining his friends in the yard, he said, "C'mon fellas, we've got work to do. See ya, Teddy. Ron." He continued walking backward until he reached the street. Once there, he turned and headed toward the pond, following the tracks left by the Scout.

  "Man, I thought that crazy old guy was gonna shoot you for sure, Frank," Jerry said, voice trembling a bit. "I guess we better make sure some of those other old people we pegged as easy marks ain't packing, too."

  Frank stopped and looked at him. "Did you see that shotgun? That wasn't a twelve-gauge you'd take bird hunting. That was a tactical shotgun. If he's got one of those, can you imagine what else he's got in there? We have got to get inside that house."

  "How we gonna do that without getting shot?" Craig asked. "He wasn't playing, Frank. I'm pretty sure he knows how to use that gun."

  "Do you guys pay attention to anything? Did you not see he was on oxygen? He ain't gonna be around forever. It's not like anybody is making any more deliveries for that shit." With a satisfied smirk, he turned back to the tracks. "We just go back in a few days and see if he's kicked the bucket yet. In the meantime, let's find out where those guys went with our ride."

  Chapter 20

  Everything worth securing in the armory was inside the building, which was why there was no guard on duty when they arrived. The locked gate was sufficient as a first line of defense. The locked doors were second. No one had tested those defenses throughout the day. The security of the Humvee was a high priority, so Hutch set a watch schedule for the perimeter of the grounds, in particular around the vehicle. Damon, Jason, the remaining guardsmen, and the Tanner family spent the evening talking about the trip thus far, speculating about the journey they would take the next day, and sharing their ideas about the country's immediate future. Brock was leaning against his mother's arm and appeared to be nodding off.

  "Can you show me where we'll be staying tonight?" Mrs. Tanner asked. "I need to get him settled into bed."

  "Yes, ma'am," Liz Thompson replied as she stood up. "We set you up with three cots in one of the classrooms. Nothing fancy, but you'll have some privacy at least."

  Melanie Tanner smiled at her, face filled with gratitude. "That will be fine. Which way?"

  "This way, ma'am." Liz indicated a hallway off the mess hall. Melanie stood up, causing all the men to rise as well. Tanner leaned over and kissed his wife on the cheek.

  "You need any help with him?"

  She shook her head. "No, I can handle it. I think I'm going to go ahead and lie down as well. You go on with your talk. Good night, everyone."

  They all wished her good night in return as she followed Liz out of the room. When she was out of sight, they sat back down. Tanner looked at Damon and asked, "Do you think the rest of the trip is going to be more dangerous than what we've encountered today?"

  Nodding, Damon answered, "My guess is, yes, it will, Sir. I had run-ins on the way here yesterday. In a world where there isn't anything running, the Humvee gets a lot of attention. I don't blame them; people want answers. They want to know what the government is doing to fix this. We don't have those answers, not yet anyway. We can't help them right now, but they don't understand that. They're scared and angry. I get that."

  "As do I," Tanner replied. "I just wish there was some way to let them know we're working on a way to get through this."

  "Me, too, but our first priority is to get you to Washington. Then maybe all of you can get together and figure something out. You can't fix anything from here."

  "I wonder what I can fix when I get there. I'm relatively sure President Olstein is not going to be happy to see me, nor will he be open to working with me for the transition he doesn't want to happen."

  Hutch chimed in. "What he wants and what the Constitution says he can do are two different things, it seems. He needs to be reminded of that. Your presence is one hell of a reminder." Everyone at the table murmured in agreement to his statement.

  "I want you all to know how much I appreciate your contributions to this endeavor. Had you not come for me," he inclined his head toward Damon, "I would never have known what was going on there and might not have been able to get out of New York. None of you have to be here, but I'm very glad you stayed." He took in the rest of the group one by one, his eyes locking on each face in turn. They each nodded to him in reply. "And now I think I will join my family and try to get some sleep. Am I correct in assuming we'll be leaving early in the morning?"

  "Yes, sir, probably before the sun is up," Damon answered. "Maybe we can get through some of the populated areas close by before people get out to do … whatever they do now. Even though the storm has pretty much passed, there's still some heavy cloud cover. Makes for very dark conditions outside with no street lights."

  Tanner nodded. "Give us about thirty minutes to get up and about if I'm not up already. I'm an early riser in the best of times. Good night all."

  A chorus of "Night, Sir" went out from the group as he made his way to the room his family was using. Damon stood up yawning.

  "I think we should all get some shut-eye. We've got a big day tomorrow."

  Jason, you can bunk with us," Hutch said as he rose from the table. Turning to Liz, he added, "Make sure Perez knows when shift change is. Four hours each. Once we get out of here in the morning, you can go back to internal as long as you stay here."

  Damon cocked his head at the captain. "Once we get out of here? You're going on to D.C. with us?"

  "Hell yeah, I'm going! I wouldn't miss this for anything!"

  "Miss what, Cap?" Darrell asked.

  With a grin, Hutch replied, "Seeing the president's face when we bring his replacement in."

  Damon was awake well before dawn, and he wasn't the first one up. David Tanner was already in the mess hall with a cup of coffee, as well as a pen and paper, which he seemed to be engrossed in using. He glanced up as Damon walked in.

  "Good morning, Major. Up early, I see." He went back to his writing.

  "Morning, Sir. Yes, but not as early as you it seems." He went straight to the coffee pot and poured himself a cup. He took it back to the table where Tanner was sitting.

  "May I join you?" he said, indicating the seat across from the president-elect.

  "Yes, of course. I'm just trying to jot down some thoughts before
we get on the road. One of the reasons I'm up so early — too much going on inside my brain." He had stopped writing while he spoke. He looked down at the paper then back to Damon.

  "Tell me something, Damon. What do you see as the most important thing we need to do first as leaders of the country?"

  Damon took a tentative sip of his coffee. He considered what Tanner had asked. "After what I've seen the last two days, I guess I would have to say getting word to the people that we're working on it. I know communications are quite limited, but I'd be trying to figure out some way to let people know we still have a government in place, such as it is, and that we are going to restore order and safety as fast as possible."

  Tanner nodded. "I agree. It seems the fear of the unknown is their biggest concern at the moment. If we could tell them something — anything — to alleviate some of that fear, it could be a huge morale booster. Now, how could we get the word out, across the country, without electricity?"

  Damon was watching Tanner closely. "You look like you have an idea about that, Sir."

  Tanner smiled. "As a matter of fact, I do. You said another vehicle had been through the toll gates. Odds are it wasn't military or you or your superiors would have known about it. That only leaves civilian, and that means some vehicles made it through the pulse, as the experts always suspected would be the case."

  "Experts? On EMPs?"

  "Oh, yes. The government has had teams working on gleaning information and estimating worst-case scenarios for years. I've also funded my own private investigations. I actually have an underground home in the Midwest set up to withstand an event like this. I'll be contacting them as soon as we get to D.C. to see how they are faring. My guess is the vehicles there are still functional."

  Damon looked at Tanner surprised. "How could they be?"

  "Cars and trucks produced before the eighties don't have the computers and electronics that modern transportation has. The worst that should have happened to them is their battery might have been fried, or maybe the alternator if the battery arced, and that's only if they were outside of their storage sheds. I also have an old Cessna and bi-plane in a hangar there."