Dystopia: The Long Road (17 page)

John tilted his head to the side and asked, “How did you know that?”

Gerald said, “We heard about you a while back, it just didn’t register it was you until I started looking for the contact there.  Your friends are well known there as a good group of people, we’ll get your information to them.”

John was moved saying, “Thank you so much, it is good to meet some nice folks.”

Gerald responded, “I have heard stories over the radio about how it is out there, how are you getting along?”

John said, “I has had its rough patches, but overall it has just been long.  We ended up here because we ran into an ambush and the vehicles got shot up; we were actually looking for a radiator for my truck and that’s how we found you.”

Gerald admonished them, “Keep off the roads there are some bad gangs here bouts.  Where are the rest of your people?”

John and Dickie were somewhat guarded after what could have been a disastrous meeting with Ruth and Frank’s group.  John hesitated to say anything, and looked to Dickie who said,

“If it is all the same mate, we would rather not say.”

Gerald clicked his tongue and said, “Already seen some action have ya?  A little gun shy I bet.?

Dickie looked at him with a downward nod, saying, “The worst kind.”

George turned from the radio and said, “I have heard of some crazy things already, but do you mean it’s worse than the gangs committing all manner of violence?”

John and Dickie both nodded as Dickie said, “The last group we ran into lured weary and frightened people, by inviting them to dinner without telling them they would be the main course.”

Gerald looking horrified said, “Cannibalism, already?  It hasn’t been but few months surely there is still food around.”

Dickie said, “I don’t know if it was just a decadence or because the government boys had the whole town taken over.  We saw the camp up close and they shoot anyone with any objections.  There were trucks and train cars hauling off bodies.”

John said, “We have been lucky, a few scuffles. We have injuries and lost a few, but we got a lady and her daughter away from them and they have seen even more horror.”

Gerald said, “Most of these houses are empty, there isn’t any water or electricity, but it is shelter and it is getting cold.  We have a house we have rigged up with hot water for showers and maps of gang activity from the other hams.  If you have guns keep them and stand guard.  Helping others is what the network of us hams have been doing.”

John asked, “Let us go and talk with the others, Ok?”

Gerald said, “The white house at the end of the block with the green shutters has a good line of sight for you to feel safe and it has four bedrooms.  If you want to settle in there and we will see about getting you to your friends.”

John said, “Thank you, we will let you know.”

Gerald replied, “It will be dark in a few hours.  Do you have a message for your friends?  It is not likely we will talk to them, but I can get them a message.”

John thought for a moment, saying, “Tell them you spoke to John and Danny.  Everyone is ok and Matty is doing great. Tell them travel is slow and getting slower.”

Gerald said, “We should let them know that you may be walking soon.”

“Walking?” John said

Gerald nodded and in a more serious tone said, “The cities are rough, real rough.  Even the smaller towns are rough and travelling on the roads makes you a target.” 

John said, “Thank you for everything, we should get back to the others and talk to them.”

Gerald said, "I’ll send someone over to open up the house in case you and your group want to use it.”

“Thank you.” John said

They returned to the group to discuss what Gerald had offered and talk about the road ahead.

“The best way to find out if you can trust somebody is to trust them.”

-Ernest Hemingway

The first reaction of all of those in the group was fear.   There was chatter amongst them about the cannibals and the shots that were fired at them earlier.  It began turning into an argument when Dickie stood and said,

“Listen, there is a chance that they could be trouble, but after looking around at everything, I don’t think so.”

Ray spoke, saying, “What gives you that impression Dickie?”

Dickie said, “Mostly a gut feeling, but it was the stance of those with the guns.  They were not at all comfortable with them.  I think they genuinely want to help.”

John stepped forward saying, “I think we can trust them.  We will post guard shifts just in case, but it is what we would have to do anyway.  One thing that helps is we will have better cover there in the house than we have here in the woods.”

Once they gathered everything up and got into the vehicles it only took a couple of minutes to get to the house.  A gray haired man, with tattered coveralls, was standing on the lawn when they arrived. He waved them across the lawn to the back yard, putting John’s truck in the garage to be worked on.

Approaching John he said, “Gerald sent me to find out what parts you needed.”

John showed him the radiator, he made some notes in a miniature composition book, then turning he left without even telling them his name.  Watching him leave John noticed standing in the driveway was two of the ladies.  Each held a casserole dish in their hands.  The younger one, walked toward them with an obvious limp.  Her hair was a long silky brown which she carefully kept hanging across one side of her face.  It was also obvious that she was hiding it.

The older woman confidently strode up chattering away at the younger one about being rude. John noted that it was not in a chastising way.  He noticed how she gently brushed the younger girl’s hair over her shoulder, holding her hand to her back with a gentle pat to encourage her to speak to them.

The group seemed to be a collection of fragmented families from some of the surrounding areas.  The ladies dropped off the casseroles for the group and said that everyone in their community had given up one of their shower privileges so that each of them could have a hot shower.  She told them that Gerald would be by after dinner to show them around.

John looked at Dickie and said, “Hot shower?”

They both grinned and almost skipped into the house to tell the others.  They sat eating the casserole and talking about the hospitality.  A few were worried it would come at a high price.

A short time later there was a knock at the door, it startled them and everyone jumped up as if ready to bolt.  Roger opened the door slightly to a smiling older gentleman who said,

“I bet you all want to know about them showers.”

Roger opened the door the rest of the way for Gerald to enter.

Gerald looked around saying, “Are you settling in ok?”

John approached him with his hand out and said, “Everyone, this is Gerald.”

Mark hurriedly came over and asked him, “Did you talk to Matt?”

Gerald said, “Unfortunately, no I didn’t.  I did talk to Arthur and he says they are all fine.”

Mark looked relieved and asked, “Did he say anything about how things are there?”

Gerald replied, “Arthur said that he and Dez had a small group that were doing well.  Jeremy and Matt had a good handle on things in the area and that the militia in the area were active and helping to keep things from getting too crazy.”

Mark looked at John and they both knew he had actually spoken to someone who knew them because he talked about Jeremy.

Laurie jumped up asking, “Toni, what about Toni?”

Gerald said, “I don’t know, but I got the feeling that everyone was fine.”

Laurie nodded and went over to where Danny was sitting.

Seeing her disappointment at not hearing about her directly he said, “Don’t worry mom, I’m sure she’s good, there is no way Jeremy would let anything happen to her, and you know how Dez is fierce over them.  She’s fine too, I guarantee it.”

Everyone was excited about hearing some news and the prospect of a hot shower. They began to outline the order of the showers.  Giving the ladies and children the first showers with the men to follow in the order.  Jules was to be first, given a towel and some toiletries she stood to go, becoming dizzy she sat quickly.  Roger looked at Dickie as he hovered over her.

He went to them asking, “Is everything ok?”

Dickie looked up with worry on his face and nodded that she was fine, but Roger knew something was wrong.  Dickie asked that someone else go first.  As Jules sat regaining her sense of balance, Dickie brought her a root beer that she sipped.

Renee approached Roger as he watched the exchange saying, “I’ve been watching for some time, I think it is gestational diabetes.” 

Roger asked, “How do you know?”

Renee said, “I have type two diabetes and I know the symptoms. 

Since no one has said anything I assume it is due to the pregnancy or they would have had us look for insulin. ”Roger nodded to her and walked over to speak with Dickie.

Midway across the room Laurie stopped him, pulling him aside said, “I need to talk to you.”

Roger, had become close friends with Dickie and was concerned for his friend’s wife.  Laurie was insistent that he come speak with her telling him it would only take a few minutes. Roger nodded and followed her to the far side of the room.

Laurie spoke softly saying, “Roger, I know what you are going to say, but I need you to listen to me.”

Roger looked at her confused and said, “What do you mean?”

Laurie said, “I saw you talking to Renee and she is right in a way, but not entirely.”

Roger asked, “How did you know?”

Laurie told him that she overheard them and wanted to talk to him about it before he talked to Dickie.  Roger asked her why and she explained that they already knew what was wrong with Jules.

Roger asked, “What’s wrong, is it gestational diabetes?”

Laurie said, “No, it is type one diabetes.  They have known since she got pregnant that the pregnancy could be dangerous to Jules, even with the best care the outlook wasn’t good. They were talking with a specialist before everything happened, who told them the pregnancy might be too much for her.”

Roger looked horrified, getting agitated he said, “What do we need to do, can we find her some insulin?”

Laurie said, “They have insulin, we have been keeping it cool with cold packs but it is losing its effectiveness.”

Roger asked, “Why have they not told anyone?”

Laurie said, “Because there is really nothing to be done.  We thought maybe she would miscarry, but she is nearly six months along now so we are hopeful.  Unless something changes this is a death sentence for her, they are mainly just trying to save the baby.”

Roger looked away angrily glancing over to where Dickie was anxiously fussing over Jules.  Looking back, he said, “What about the camps?  Maybe she can get help there.”

Laurie looked at him with sadness saying, “You of all people know the truth about that.”

Looking down, he mumbled, “I know.”

Laurie said, “In the days ahead Dickie will need a friend like you.  Amy is already studying up on C-sections.  Let’s let them have this time without everyone causing more anxiety for them.”

Roger looked at her and nodded, turned and left.  Laurie went to Dickie and Jules to see if she was ok.  Knowing it was likely time for a shot she grabbed the pouch with the test strips and insulin in it.  Dickie saw her coming with the pouch and nodded to her as he stood to leave.

Laurie reached out saying, “You need to go to go talk to Roger… he knows.”

Dickie put a hand on her shoulder and thanked her before leaving to go find Roger.

The shower rotation was a huge success, Jules finally got hers and everyone felt clean and rejuvenated.  A home cooked meal a roof over their heads and a shower made it seem almost like everything was normal.  Until the topic of what to do about the vehicles and direction of travel came up.

Gerald came back once the showers were finished and asked how everyone felt. He was greeted with overwhelming gratitude and questions about how they maintained things there.  He explained that they kept low key and had an agreement with a local gang.  He explained that they were safe there and said they could relax.

Motioning John and Ray to follow, he said, “I need to talk to you about some things.”

They followed him outside where he told them of some dangers he had heard over the airwaves. He admonished them to steer clear of the cities, and that they would need to stay off the roads as much as possible.

John anxiously asked, “How are we supposed to travel if we can’t drive on the road?”

Gerald said, “I am part of a network that will help you get there, but it will be difficult.”

Gerald continued to explain that the gang that watched over them were also not accepting of visitors.  He said they needed to be ready to go in two days.  The plan was to get them out of the area over the power line easements.  They had a relay of four wheelers that could carry them as far as the West Virginia, Kentucky line.  After that they would have to walk.

John said, “I think we would rather take our chances in the vehicles.”

Ray reached out and touched his shoulder saying, “I wanna hear the rest of what he has to say.”

He continued, “I spoke with Arthur and he believes that overland is the way to go as well.  The breakdown in the cities is beyond any hope of control and FEMA is still trying to round people up.”

Ray asked, “What about Mandy, Julie and the kids?”

Gerald said, “At the border of this territory there will be two groups, one to continue with those going to Kentucky, the other to take them to the territory of Ohio.”

Ray looked confused, asking, “Territories?”

Gerald looked troubled, saying, “Much of the area has been split into territories, much like turf that gangs fight over.  I told you they don’t take kindly to visitors, especially ones that haven’t paid tribute.”

Again, Ray asked, “Tribute?”

Gerald was frustrated, saying, “Tribute, yes… they will take whatever they think they deserve.  Do you remember Lana, the young lady who brought casserole?  She was the tribute and that is what they did to her.  We need to get your women out of here.  If they catch you inside their territory they will not look kindly on it and exact a high price.”

Ray nodded and said they were grateful for all his help asking, “When do we leave?”

Gerald said, “Morning after next, I need time to set up the relay and supply caches.”

The group enjoyed a few days of rest before the final leg of their journey would begin.  They talked about the plan and expressed excitement over their impending arrival.  Mandy and Julie were told of the plan to get them to Ohio and were sent to get the information to Gerald.

The next day was spent repacking what could be taken and relaxing, again, they were brought dinner and took showers in preparation for their journey.

As the sun set everyone settled in for a good night’s sleep only Roger remained awake watching out the front window.  Just about the end of his watch he saw a figure darting across the yard. Jumping up his hand on his sidearm he made his way to the side door.  It was the young lady whom had brought food that first day.

Roger let her in where she hurriedly gave him her message. “Gerald said, be ready to go in five minutes, also to tell you, time is up and to hurry.”

As quietly as she came, she left back out the side door and along the row of houses.

Roger woke Dickie saying, “It’s go time, get everyone ready.  Five minutes is all we have been given so let’s get everyone ready.”

They were all ready and packed in five minutes waiting for the word to move.