Through Many Fires (Strengthen What Remains) (13 page)

Wait…Peter didn’t say the passage was comforting. What did
he say? Something about a close friend passing it to him. And he said it spoke
to him in this ‘time of tribulation.’
She read it again. Words jumped out at her. …
abomination of desolation…flee into the mountains… not come down to take
anything… Oh God, it’s a message.

L
isa threw the luggage into
the trunk of her small car with fear-aided ease and then slid in the driver’s
seat. The smell of smoke from an unseen fire drifted across the nearly empty
parking lot.
Calm down. If it is another bomb Peter was warning about you
don’t want to get in an accident.
She turned the key and the old car
sputtered to life. Taking a deep breath she shifted it into gear and headed
across the campus.

Turning
a corner she saw the wrought iron gates at the entrance of the campus were
shut. She briefly considered ramming them like in the movies, but stopped just
a few feet away. Stepping from the car she approached the gate. A thick chain
and heavy lock secured it. She pulled on the chain hoping it would magically
open. There was a gate at the far end of the campus, but she was certain it
would also be locked. She gently bit her lip as she considered her options.

“
What
are you doing here?”

Lisa
spun around and clamped down hard on her lip. A security guard was walking
along the fence.

She
rubbed her mouth. “I…I was going home, but the gate is locked.”

He
shook his head. “I thought everyone was gone except us.”

“
Us?”
Lisa asked.

“
Single
guys on the security staff.” He pointed up the hill to the oldest building on
the campus. “Several of us moved in up there. Also, there’s a few international
students that are stuck here and a couple of professors staying in their
offices, but I didn’t think any others were left here.” He walked up to the
gate. “Are you sure you want to go off campus?”

Lisa
took a deep breath and nodded.

“
Where’s
home?”

“
Hansen.”

“
Don’t
stop for anything till you get there,” he said.

Returning
to her car Lisa locked both doors. The guard opened one gate enough for her to
exit. As she drove away from the campus onto the vacant street, she could see a
cloud of smoke drifting down from the north. Turning on the radio she heard the
usual litany.

“…
have
promised food and medical assistance. Some help is expected to arrive by air in
the coming weeks, but the bulk will take several months to come by ship.

“
Hospitals
outside the red zones are overwhelmed, forcing the relocation of patients to
facilities sometimes hundreds of miles away. In addition the massive exodus
from all major cities has compounded the problem with additional injuries. All
medical personal are asked to report to the nearest hospital or clinic.

“
All
military, National Guard and Coast Guard personnel are to report….”

Nothing
new.
She turned it down low.

Rounding
the next corner she could see the freeway on ramp. Several cars were sitting
almost blocking access. She slowed down. Something moved behind one of the
vehicles.
I’m going to another on ramp.
She turned the wheel.

A shot
rang out.

Hitting
the gas pedal she sped to the left down a side street.

Less
than a mile from the college and I’ve been shot at.
She considered going
back to the campus, but Peter’s warning pushed her onward.

She
roared onto the freeway at the next open ramp. A single car zipped past her as
she pulled into the lane. Abandoned vehicles had been pushed to the side
leaving about half of the highway clear. It looked like a post-apocalyptic
movie set.

She
glanced in the rearview mirror.
Soldiers on the overpass. That’s why it was
clear.
She smiled and hoped to see more.

Along
both sides of the highway were malls and shops, but the people Lisa could see
didn’t seem to be shopping. Some groups appeared to be walking south. Others
pushed shopping carts filled with unbagged merchandise.
Refugees and
looters.

A mile
down the road she was beginning to ease off the gas pedal when she spotted
another group of armed men breaking into abandoned cars. Lisa zoomed by as fast
as possible but, apparently content with looting vehicles they took little note
of her.

Rounding
the next curve a bit too fast, she struggled to keep her car from hitting an
abandon vehicle. Coming out of the bend she heard a snap like the breaking of a
twig and then a high pitched whine seemed to fill the car. As it reached a
crescendo she wanted to clamp her hands over her ears. Then it stopped.

Lisa
glanced down.
The radio? Was that the radio?
The station it had been on
was gone. Only crackle and static came from it now. She pressed search on the
radio and down on the gas pedal.

Several
cars sped past her.

She
wanted to speed up, but was more afraid of an accident than any direct threat.
Continuing south she topped several hills. Office buildings and empty parking
lots gave way to houses and trees as she continued south away from Olympia.
Still miles from home the more suburb setting looked familiar, but the abandon
cars, burned out homes and empty neighborhoods continued the eerie surrealism.
Still with no immediate threats she slowly eased off the gas.

“…
back
on the air using generator power.”

She
gasped, startled by a voice from the radio.

“
Reports
are coming in that a mushroom cloud is rising over southern Puget Sound or the
suburbs south of Seattle. We can’t see anything from our studio in Tacoma, but
we are attempting to confirm it.”

Lisa
sped up once again.

Moments
later the announcer stated, “People heading south are confirming the attack and
out-of-control fires spreading away from the blast zone toward Tacoma. From our
studio we can see dark clouds and heavy smoke rolling across the nearby hills.
We may have to evacuate the studio.”

Traffic
had been light, but was now picking up as cars joined the flow south at each on
ramp.
Everyone who hadn’t fled the metro area just decided to leave. Thank
you Peter, for giving me a head start.
Then she recalled what the announcer
had said about the location of the blast, south Puget Sound or the suburbs
south of Seattle, and tears rolled from her eyes for her brother Peter and his
wife Sue.

She
wiped her cheeks and slowed as she rolled into the county of her birth.
Two
more small towns, then the exit for Hansen.
She sighed, wiped her face and
then swept her eyes along the sides of the road. She wondered why the
destruction was greater here than it had been in Olympia. Gas stations and
convenience stores were burned and looted along with nearby homes and shops.
Pillars of smoke rose from the upcoming town.

She
glanced down. Her gas gauge showed just over half. If she had been coming from
Seattle she would be low on fuel by this time. She imagined the desperation of
a family fleeing anticipated nuclear annihilation and arriving in a small town
with not enough fuel to get wherever they might be going.
I don’t have any
food with me and only a few gallons of gas, but I’ve got family nearby.

Up
ahead a motel parking lot was full of cars. Dozens of people wandered about the
building and a nearby burned out gas station.

Tens
of thousands drove here hoping to go on to relatives and friends beyond. How
many didn’t make it? Did they run out of gas and walk or did they just stay
here? How would they get food? Did they die?

A few
miles down the road Lisa neared the Hansen exit. She scanned the ramp and
overpass for danger. She could see men, women and children along the overpass
and on either side. Many watched as she approached, but none appeared to be
armed. She raced up the overpass and turned left.

Immediately
people held out their hands urging her to stop. Others stepped into the road
almost blocking her way. She swerved to avoid one person then another and
another. The crowd pressed in slowing her to a crawl. They pulled on the locked
doors. The car was barely moving now. Three burly men stepped into the road
thirty feet ahead. One held a crowbar.

They
want my car, my gas. I might be killed or….
She knew the road ahead was straight
for several hundred yards.
God help me.
She closed her eyes and rammed
her foot down on the gas pedal.

The
car sputtered and then roared forward.

Bang.

Thump.

Screams
of terror and angry yells filled her ears.

A
second later she opened her eyes. The road ahead was clear and the windshield
cracked.
No, don’t look! Don’t look in the rearview mirror. Whatever is back
there you don’t want to see it.

Lisa
sped on as tears flowed.
They should have gotten out of the way. They would
have stolen my car. They might have killed me.
She sobbed.
I killed
someone. I’m going to jail.
More tears followed.
The guard at the
college, he said, don’t stop for anything.
Lisa shook her head.
No, it
was a hit and run. They’ll throw me in prison.
She took a deep breath and
tried to stop crying, but within moments the cycle of self-recrimination and
justification resumed.

Gradually
the lack of people, rural setting and very familiar road gave comfort. She knew
that Hansen was just a few miles ahead.
I’ll talk to Dad when I get home.
He’ll know what to do.
With a big sigh she wiped away the last of the tears
as the road descended into the river valley where the family had camped and
picnicked many times. The forest was thick here and reached down to the shore
of the lake only a mile ahead.

She
rounded a gradual bend in the road and onto a causeway that crossed the lake.
Almost
home!
Looking to the far bank she saw bulldozers parked across the road.
She slowed the car to a crawl. Poles stood on either side with bodies hanging from
them.

“
W
hat?” Caden interrupted
his sister’s story. “You saw bodies, hanging from poles, at the blockade?”

Lisa
crossed her arms. “I told you I ran down three men and you didn’t say a thing,
but I say there were bodies at the blockade and you want clarification?”

Caden
gestured, “Stop right there. When you hit those men you did what you had to do.
I would have done the same.”

His
mother nodded. “That’s what your father said.”

“
How
did you get home?” Caden asked.

She
relaxed her arms. “I threw the car in reverse, turned around, and headed for
the logging road south of the lake.”

Caden
laughed. “We tried that road also. They must have pulled the culvert after you
used it.” He thought for a moment. “I didn’t see any bodies at the blockade and
I don’t remember any poles.” He turned to Maria. “Did you see anything?”

“
No,
there were no bodies, but we probably wouldn’t have noticed poles.”

“
They
were there,” Lisa said.

“
I
never saw it, but your father told me about it,” his mother added, “said it was
a bad idea.”

Caden
shifted on the bed. “I assume Sheriff Hoover is running town security.”

His
mother and Lisa both nodded.

“
I’ve
never liked Hoover, but why would he hang corpses at the blockade? Has he gone
crazy while I’ve been gone?”

“
I
think he’s desperate,” his mother said. “Nuclear bombs exploded in other parts
of the country, and everyone was afraid it would happen here. People were
fleeing south down every road from Seattle and Tacoma. I’m sure most were
decent, but enough were willing to rob and kill….” She paused and shook her
head. “Those that lived along the highway had their gas and food stolen. Cars
were taken. The store and the church beside the freeway were both looted. Two
deputies were murdered trying to restore order. The motel as you come into town
is full of locals who lived near the interstate. They fled their homes, others
were robbed and killed.”

Caden
recalled his trip with the military convoy. “We saw the destruction along the
freeway.”

“
It
started happening here. That’s when your father went to Sheriff Hoover and
proposed the blockade. He suggested the locations and using heavy equipment or
logs. He even helped man the blockade, in the beginning.”

Caden
considered his options. Hoover had made it clear that interference was not
welcome. Still, as the governor’s liaison, he felt he had some responsibility
to inquire about the shootings.”

“
What
are you thinking?” Lisa asked.

I’m
thinking I have no idea what to do about Sheriff Hoover.
But he didn’t want to
say that, so he smiled and said, “I’m thinking, is there any food in this
house? Is anyone else hungry?”

With
help from Maria he made it down the stairs from his bedroom to the dining room.
There they ate and talked about family and home for several more hours. Only
when the power failed, leaving the full moon as the only light, did they go to
bed.

Caden
woke to crowing. He looked at the window and mumbled, “It’s still dark you
stupid rooster.” He had grown up on this farm and knew that roosters crowed
when they would, but it still annoyed him. After more crowing he knew there was
no going back to sleep, so slowly he slid his legs from under the covers and
sat on the edge of the bed. He turned the knob on the lamp beside him and, as
light filled the room, remembered the power had been out. The clock blinked on
the nightstand.

Out of
habit he looked for Maria. While he never actually slept with her, for the last
two weeks they had not been far apart at night. With a smile he recalled that,
as the evening waned, his mother suggested Maria share the room with Adam.

Carefully
he stood looking down at his bandaged leg.
Painful, but bearable.
He
hobbled toward the bathroom. By the time he got downstairs, he noticed a fire
in the living room woodstove. When he limped into the kitchen his mother was
sitting at the table with a cup of coffee.

“
You’re
up early,” he said sitting across from her.

“
You’ve
been away from the farm too long. Someone has to feed the chickens and pig.”

“
I’ll
help.”

“
It’s
already done.”

“
I’ll
help tomorrow.”

She
reached back to the counter. “Your father got this after his leg operation.”
She set an antique, carved, wooden cane on the table. “It’s been at the back of
the closet for years, but I figured you might use it.”

He
thanked her.

Still
looking at the cane she said, “I pray Trevor is all right,” tears welled in her
eyes, “and Peter and Susan.”

“
I’m
sure Dad is fine, he’s a survivor and Peter is a cop. He’s in shape, trained
and armed. Neither of them would let anything happen to Sue. Still, I should
probably head up North Road and look for them.”

“
No,”
she said firmly. “Two days ago I feared you were dead and then yesterday I got
you back. I can’t lose you again. Your father is a survivor and so is Peter. If
they are alive they will come home. If they are dead,” her voice choked, “then
no one should risk their life to find them.”

Caden
wanted to argue, but creaking stairs and floorboards announced someone coming.
Maria entered wrapped in a robe and looking disheveled. “Adam’s still sleeping,
but…well, I thought roosters crowed at dawn.”

Mother
and son grinned as Maria sat at the table.

As the
first rays of sunlight peeked above the eastern hills, Lisa joined the rest of
the family at the breakfast table.

His
mother cooked eggs and bacon and asked about Caden’s plans for the day.

“
I’ll
go talk to Hoover. I need his cooperation if I’m going to be a liaison for the
governor.”

Lisa
rolled her eyes. “Good luck getting him to cooperate with you. He has a looong
memory.”

Caden
shrugged. “I’ve got to try. Then I’ll go to the armory. Also, I need to meet
with the county commissioners and the emergency manager.”

“
Sounds
exciting. Does anyone want more coffee?” Lisa stood and walked toward the pot.

Caden
held up his cup, but looked at his mother. “I might be late getting back.”

“
Do
you need me to come along and,” Maria smiled, “help you get in and out of the
car and up the stairs.”

Caden
would have welcomed her company, but the day would be boring for anyone who
tagged along. “No, I think I’ll just hobble along with my cane.” He didn’t want
to leave the three most important women in his life alone on the farm, but was
equally certain that they were safer together.
Maria can shoot straight and
Lisa can aim a car.
He grinned at his own dark joke.

After
breakfast he dressed in his uniform, complete with tattered pant leg, and
limped toward the car with Maria at his side.

“
Why
don’t you and Sheriff Hoover like each other?”

“
When
I was in high school his little sister, Debra, had a crush on me.”

“
It’s
got to be more than that. What happened? Did you….”

“
I did
nothing,” he said a bit too harshly. “Well, almost nothing.” With a big sigh he
continued. “She was two years behind me in school and flirted with me off and
on for years. On the night of my graduation there was a party at a friend’s
house. He let us know there would be ample beer.”

“
Your
mom doesn’t seem like the kind who would be okay with that?”

“
My
parents didn’t know.”

“
Oh,
this is going nowhere good.”

Caden
nodded. “Beer, high school grads, loud music and then Debra shows up. I’d had
one too many by then, which in those days was two or three. Debra started
flirting with me again and we ended up making out like only half-drunk high
school kids can. At the moment Debra took off her blouse in walked the newest
deputy on the force, Hoover.”

Maria
smiled. “You were so busted.”

“
He
arrested everyone at the party, even his little sister, but according to him it
was my fault she was there. Hoover accused me of inviting her, said I had
seduced her and offered her the alcohol.” Caden leaned against the car. “I had
to call Dad to come get me out of jail.”

“
You
were both young.” Maria opened the car door. “You’re older and wiser now and, I
suspect, Hoover is also.” She leaned forward and kissed him on the cheek. “Good
luck and happy Valentine’s Day.”

The
drive into town gave Caden time to think.
How come women always remember
things like Valentine’s Day and men never do? What should I do? Get her a card
or flowers? How do you find such things at a time like this?
He shook his
head and vowed to do something.

As he
passed over the creek on the way into town the two red-headed teens were again
along the bank, but this time with a net and what looked like a fish trap.

When
he saw the Hansen city limit sign, his thoughts turned to Hoover.
He was a
stern man, probably still is but, Maria is right, he is too smart to hold a
grudge for over a decade.
But by the time Caden walked into the office he
still didn’t have a plan.

From
behind his desk, Hoover looked down at the torn pant leg and bandage. “What
happened?”

“
Lisa
accidently shot me with buckshot.”

Hoover
grinned. “I always liked her.” He chuckled and then asked, “You going to be
okay?”

“
Yeah,
she mostly missed.” Caden looked Hoover in the eye. “Have you got a couple of
minutes? We need to talk.”

“
Shut
the door and sit down.”

When
the door was closed Hoover said, “What does the new military liaison need?”

Caden
sighed, but decided not to respond directly. “You were elected to be the
Sheriff of this county. You know the people because you’ve lived here since I
was a kid. I can’t and don’t want to replace you.”

He
nodded.

“
I
want this county to be a safe place because my mother, sister, and…well other
people who are important to me live here. You kept this place safe.”

“
Thank
you. I did my best.”

“
There
is something I wanted to ask you about. I’ve been told that there were bodies
hanging at the blockade by the lake?”

“
I
don’t answer to you, mister military liaison, I answer to the people of this
community and…well, I kept as many of them safe as I could.”

“
What
was done is apparently not a secret. I’m asking why. Help me understand.”

“
Understand?”
Hoover shook his head. “How can you….” He paused and looked Caden in the eye.
“You were in Washington D.C., right?”

Caden
nodded.

“
We
saw it on TV. A lot of people were scared, but by the next morning, when L.A.
was hit, people panicked. Everyone wanted out of Seattle and Tacoma as fast as
possible. Many fled south toward us. While they had money the refugees bought
everything and anything they thought they might need. Many took what they
wanted. Stores didn’t take checks, the ATM system failed, people got desperate.
Along the freeway looting was widespread. When there was nothing left many of
the refugees got mad. They destroyed and burned…. I’ve never imagined fear on
that scale. The scared…the injured…the dying…. I did my best. You said I kept
this place safe, but I was elected sheriff of the entire county, and over a
quarter of it has been looted and burned and two of my deputies are dead.”

Caden
shook his head. “An army couldn’t have saved the area along the freeway. I
think the blockade was the right thing to do.”

“
That
was your father’s idea.” Hoover remained silent for a several moments and then
with a sigh continued. “Two stupid kids tried to ram the North Road blockade
while shooting at it with pistols. The guards returned fire, but it was the
crash that killed them. I hung the bodies there as a warning to others not to
be stupid and to stay away.”

“
What
about the bodies at the other blockades?”

“
There
were five others. Three were looters and two were the men who killed my
deputies. I shot them all.”