Endless Flames (Surviving Ashes, Book Four) (5 page)

The television monitor had been split in two, with one feed focused on Yellowstone and what Maxie assumed was Old Faithful…but the historic geyser was no longer there. Multiple vents had opened up around it and steam camouflaged the cavities until the eruption was like a cannon being fired right inside the room they were standing in. Maxie wasn’t sure the resonating crack had occurred on television or if she’d heard it for herself outside. She reached for the desk behind her and covered one arm over her head in case the roof caved in on them, but the rattling subsided slowly until it was like it had never happened all. But it had. And the television screen was now nothing but static.

“Are you all right?” Berke must have made his way back when the blast had occurred. His comforting hand was on her lower back as he helped her straighten, but her only thought was that she had to get to Jacob. He had to be so scared and she was the only one who could calm him down. “Maxie?”

“Yeah,” Maxie replied, doing her best to keep the tremor out of her voice. She tried to prioritize and figured she could make it back to the station in under ten minutes if she left for the courthouse now. No one was going to worry about useless paperwork when they’d just been ordered to evacuate. “Where will you be? I’m going to go get Jacob and then come back here to help organize the groups. I think we should—”

“Maxie, I’m not going east with the rest of you.” Berke stepped back with what appeared to be a small smile of encouragement. Maxie couldn’t have heard right, so she did her best to stop her mind from spinning with all of the things she needed to do. “But you and the others need to do what the government is suggesting. When you reach the East Coast, locate the first FEMA station and set up camp. And Maxie? Whatever you do, do not relinquish your weapon to anyone for any reason.”

B
erke closed the
gate of his truck after packing all of the reloading equipment that he could fit in the bed, along with a few additional important weapons from the shop. Between the powder he loaded into sealed plastic storage bins and the case of primers he was carrying with him, a stray spark could put him in orbit.

He cursed at the fact that the eruption had occurred so soon, wishing he’d had extra time to make the trip to Washington without having to fight off the elements that were sure to rain down on him before he was a third of the way there. His truck wouldn’t make it farther than an hour or two once the air filter came in contact with any serious amount of ash. He’d have to stay as far south as he could before traveling up the West Coast to Lost Summit and pray that he could make it with the extra filter he’d gotten for the next maintenance cycle on his truck.

As for the gun range, nothing would be left of it—of that Berke was certain. There would be people remaining behind, they would be looting anything and everything they could find. He’d witnessed firsthand what happened when fear and panic led to desperation, and this time would be no different. There wasn’t anything he could do about the remaining items, but he’d packed up what he could into the gun safes he carried in the shop and set the combinations to the numbers he’d given to the sheriff. He technically couldn’t afford the time it had taken to do so, but he wasn’t about to leave any type of firepower behind for dangerous marauders to steal.

The sound of a vehicle pulling into the parking lot surprised him, due to the fact that the majority of the town residents were congregated around Main Street to hear what Sheriff Ross had to say on the state of the coming disaster. It wouldn’t be until later today or early tomorrow after the news reported the mass casualties resulting from the blast when those left would start thinking about making some unwise decisions based on fear and ignorance.

Berke turned to find Maxie pulling up behind his Ford and parking at an angle where backing up his vehicle would virtually be impossible. She didn’t waste much time as she flung open the door on her brand new Sienna XLE minivan she’d recently purchased down at O’Leary’s Automotive, most likely paying a couple grand more than it was worth due to Lucky’s shady dealings. She’d wanted something to accommodate Jacob and that’s exactly what she’d ended up with.

“You’re going up to that lodge you go to every year in Washington State, aren’t you?” Maxie demanded, looking nothing like she had earlier. Her chin length black hair was pulled back in a short ponytail and her face was void of any make-up—not that she needed any with her natural girl next-door looks. She was a beautiful woman and one he’d steered cleared from ever since he’d settled here after his semi-retirement for a variety of reasons. Pretty women in his experience made for poor wives. He’d seen it a million times during his years in the Corps. He also noticed that she’d changed clothes and into apparel that would be more suitable for an extended trip east with her group. She carried her service weapon in her duty belt rig, which looked a bit out of place with her jeans. At least she was playing it smart. “Why?”

“That’s where my team is. That’s where I need to be,” Berke answered vaguely, palming his keys as he struggled for patience. He would normally give anyone as much time as they wanted to say their piece about something, but these weren’t the average conditions and time was of the essence. He couldn’t help but glance up at the clear blue sky to the northwest, wondering just how long that view would remain or how long it would be before anyone in these parts saw another clear day. “Maxie, why aren’t you at the town’s square forming up into groups?”

“Because I don’t just have myself to think about anymore, now do I?” Maxie stood with her hands on the waist of a pair of faded denim jeans and a loose fitting, short-sleeved pullover shirt that let everyone know she lived in the Lone Star State. “I have a little boy who’s counting on me and I want to do what’s best for him.”

“That would be going to the East Coast with everyone else, as you’ve been instructed to do by our government,” Berke directed in warning, knowing exactly where Maxie was going with this. There wasn’t a chance in hell he was taking her with him to Washington when he wasn’t one hundred percent sure it was the right decision even for himself. Had it only been Tank and the team, the bunker could have easily sustained them for a period of ten years or more. Taking responsibility of an entire town—regardless that the population was only about fifty—wasn’t the wisest course of action, but it was the most humane given their particular ethical dilemma. Adding more people to the mix would only put more lives in jeopardy. “Maxie, go back into town and listen to what your boss has to say. I’m sure he’s been given instructions and is monitoring the emergency channels for more information to share with you.”

“Why is your team opting to stay in Washington?” Maxie asked, not letting up in her typical hard-headed manner. She did glance back inside the minivan, alerting Berke to the fact that she had Jacob in the back seat. The windows were tinted, making it hard to confirm that fact, but it didn’t matter. She needed to stop wasting their time and head out of town before traffic became congested to the point where traveling to the east was impossible. “What’s up there that would keep them from going to a place where FEMA is establishing shelters for those in need?”

Berke wasn’t going to explain his reasoning, because it wouldn’t matter. He wasn’t about to take responsibility for a woman and a small, helpless child, whose best option was to listen to the government officials and stay with the town’s inhabitants. They’d already wasted a couple of hours that they couldn’t afford to lose. He’d already been to his house and gathered his go-bags, along with the provisions that Tank had sent him over the years—such as gasmasks, MREs, a supply of clean drinking water, and shelter from the elements. He was set to hit the road and the only thing standing in his way was a petite raven-haired sprite who could easily be either a competitive opponent or a great adversary if he pushed her. Had Maxie been by herself, he would have considered taking her with him. Someone having his six in this kind of situation would have been more than helpful, but he wasn’t faced with such a simple choice. She had considerable baggage in the form of a small child.

“Maxie, it’s my team and I need to get going,” Berke explained without having to say anything else, leaving her standing there while he walked to the driver’s side door. She should understand more than anyone the brotherhood that was established in the type of career she’d chosen for herself. Law enforcement wasn’t much different than the military. “It doesn’t matter that we aren’t on active duty. We will always be a unit…family. You need to do the same for your people.”

“Which is why your team wouldn’t want you to drive straight into a damned ash cloud and God only knows what else in an attempt to reach them,” Maxie declared, pointing a finger in his direction as she clarified her position. “You’re smarter than that, Berke. Which means you know something I don’t or you wouldn’t be going there.”

Berke wasn’t sure how to respond to that, because technically he was going to do his best to make it to a sanctuary that would be a hundred times more secure than a FEMA camp, regardless that the camps she was speaking of would most likely be secured by the National Guard. But he wasn’t sure he could even make it to Washington and he wouldn’t put her life, or that of her new son, in harm’s way on a gamble. The longer she delayed him, the less likely it was that he would actually make it himself.

“What I know is that you’re wasting precious time,” Berke warned, opening up the door to his truck and motioning for her to do the same to her vehicle. “Take Jacob and go into town now. Make sure you’re with a group you can trust and then stay together at all costs.”

Berke planted his foot on the running board and made himself comfortable, not bothering to look back over his shoulder to see if Maxie had done as he’d suggested. It wasn’t like she had a choice, because talking about any other option wasn’t conceivable to him. He slammed his door, slid the key into the ignition, and started the engine. He unconsciously grabbed his sunglasses out of the console and then slid them into place. It was only then that he realized he most likely wouldn’t need them for long.

Berke glanced down at his phone, wondering if the cell towers were still working. He’d call Mav once he got to the edge of town, wanting to know how things were going up in Lost Summit. They would have most likely called a town meeting by now, similar to the ones going on all around the country. Who would choose to stay and who would decide leaving was the better option? Just how many would the bunker have to protect and how long would the supplies hold out?

Berke gritted his teeth at the fact that all of them would be forced to make a life or death decision today, but it wasn’t as if they’d been given a choice one way or the other. He didn’t have a choice either. He shifted his truck into reverse and then would have pressed on the gas had he not seen in his rearview mirror that Maxie hadn’t moved her minivan. In fact, she was leaning against the side of it with her arms crossed, as if she had all day. Damn it all to hell.

“Maxie, we don’t have time for this kind of bullshit,” Berke warned after he’d gotten out of his truck. He walked over to her until they were inches apart, resting the palm of his right hand on the warm metal of the door. He leaned in close, not wanting her to misunderstand a word he was about to say. “By tomorrow or the next day, eighty-five percent of the United States will be covered in ash. No sun, no clean air, and no drinkable water…and that’s only one percent of the problems we’re all about to face. Do you know what that small percentage means? No traveling by vehicle or by foot. No hydration. As for breathing? Ash is made out of pulverized rock and shards of glass. Do you know what that does to a person’s lungs if he or she inhales it? It creates a horrible, gut-wrenching, suffocating death that will have you begging for a merciful end.”

“I understand completely the severity of the situation we’re facing, Berke,” Maxie shared while reaching up and slowly removing his aviator sunglasses. He was somewhat surprised when she slipped one of the sides down her shirt, leaving his shades hanging from her V-neck collar. “What you don’t seem to comprehend is that I have little to no options here. The only other man who would have been able to handle such a disastrous situation was my father, but he’s no longer with us.”

“Maxie, you’re more than capable of—”

“As much as I appreciate the vote of confidence, I swore an oath to protect that child currently seated inside this minivan,” Maxie said with a slight tremor in her voice. At least, Berke thought he’d heard a quiver until her tone turned to cold, rolled steel. “I don’t know if I’m mother material or not. I suspect I’ll be finding out rather quickly. I’ll admit to being scared to death at the prospect of raising Jacob up to be a young man who can take care of himself, but now the odds are stacked against me. I’m faced with having little chance of remaining alive to guarantee his safety…that is, with the exception of having you by my side.”

What the hell was Maxie talking about? Berke frowned in confusion and would have asked her to clarify had she not continued…and basically set their fate like the cement the lining of their lungs would be filled with if they breathed in the ash about to descend upon them.