STRANDED: Box Set: Books 1-6 Page 9

  Quinn started. “Even stopping for a few hours today, we made a lot of miles. But I don’t think we can keep up that kind of pace every day. Especially with what’s ahead. I don’t know about Josh but hauling the trailers on flat ground isn’t that bad. Hauling them uphill will be killer. And we’ll all suffer once we hit the desert. I think we’ll have to slow down. That guy John is right about Las Vegas. All those tourists on top of the city population, it’s going to be a madhouse. I think we should start looking for back roads to get around it. We might even have to go overland.” He paused thoughtfully. “I wish we knew the area better. If it was home, between all of our knowledge, we could come up with ten different ways to avoid town,” he sighed. “I wish we had grabbed some binoculars at the camping store. They would really come in handy to scout ahead.”

  Cooper brought up a scary topic. “I think today and tomorrow will be the last of the goodwill from people. Two days without water flowing and no help arriving and they’ll start thinking about looking after themselves. No food shipments, no transportation - tomorrow is when things are going to really start breaking down. The worst of society will start taking advantage of things and we might be biking into trouble anytime we get near towns. We really will have to stay alert for ambushes and be prepared to defend ourselves. What we have in those trailers could be worth our lives to some people.”

  Josh agreed. “We all have to be ready. Alex, Dara, if someone is going to try and hurt us you have to be prepared to defend us. My dad always told my sister, “One of the most dangerous things is a gun in the hands of a woman who won’t use it.” People, especially bad people, can tell when you don’t really mean it. So you two really have to mean it. Don’t hesitate. All our lives will be at stake.”

  Dara’s attitude flared up. “Yeah, thanks for the pep talk but try to remember who my dad is. I’m a cop’s daughter. He fed me, “Shoot for the center mass” with my Wheaties. I won’t have a problem and let’s not forget Alex’s brother is a cop as well. I have complete faith in her judgment. How about you, Josh? Are you going to scare them away with a cherry bomb?” she asked sarcastically.

  “Hey, that’s not fair! I might like to do pranks but in case you haven’t noticed, none of us are screwing around. We all want to get home safely. I mean look at you, changing your hair so you won’t stand out. Sooo not the Dara I know. Alex has barely said two words since yesterday and usually, you can’t get a word in edgewise with her. Have you seen Cooper steal a car yet? And Quinn…Okay, Quinn’s still Mr. Responsibility. But all that stuff is over. The faces we showed everyone a few days ago? They weren’t the real us, it was just a way to get through the day. This is who we really are, people who will help others when we can and defend ourselves against the bad when we have to. So yeah, I might like to chuck cherry bombs in garbage cans at school, but here on the road, I will kill someone to keep you safe,” he said forcefully and with meaning.

  Everyone was shocked a little by his outburst and before anyone could respond he jumped up and walked away.

  Trying to reduce the tension, Cooper yelled after him, “Hey, I would gladly steal a car for you buddy!”

  They heard a half laugh, half sob from Josh as he kept going.

  After a few minutes of silence, Dara got up and walked out to meet him in the dark.

  Josh had always been like a brother to Alex, and after what he just said, she realized that she would do anything to keep him safe as well. They were all trying to deal with this new situation and Alex understood that they were all shaking off their high school personalities and becoming adults.

  “Well, Mr. Responsibility says let’s get this place cleaned up and hit the sack.” Quinn tried to joke but it came out flat.

  Using the lantern for a little extra light they cleaned up the dishes and Alex collected dirty shirts to wash. She didn’t know how clean she could get them with just a pot of hot water but it would be an improvement from the sweaty, stinky mess they currently were. After swishing them one by one through the hot water with a couple drops of dish soap she wrung them out and draped them over the bikes and trailers to dry.

  Dara and Josh were still out in the dark together so Alex went to the tent and grabbed some of the toiletries and handed them out to Quinn and Cooper. A bag of baby wipes in hand, she closed the tent flap and tried to wash off the day’s grime. It felt like heaven to be partially clean and she really didn’t want to put her dirty clothes back on. She was worried about space when she grabbed clothes from the sports store, so all she had grabbed other than socks and underwear was a spare outfit. A pair of shorts and yoga pants, a shirt and a jacket that could be rolled up was all she had extra. The shirt she had just removed was dirty and the other one was air drying so she pulled on the jacket, which had a nice cozy fleece lining. After wearing her cargo pants for two days, they could almost stand up by themselves so she grabbed the yoga pants and shimmied into them. Fresh socks helped cushion her feet. After that, she tackled her hair. The normally bouncy, strawberry blond curls were dirty and matted. Brushing it ruthlessly, she got all the tangles and knots out and it did seem to help her scalp feel less itchy. Feeling almost normal, she put her boots back on and headed back out of the tent.

  Dara and Josh had come back while she was getting cleaned up and as Alex walked past him, she lightly bumped shoulders and gave him a wink.

  “Just so you know how much you mean to me, I’ll wash out your dirty clothes if you hand them over,” she joked with him.

  With an evil grin, the old Josh surfaced. “Aw, thanks, Alex, I’ll go grab you my dirty underwear!”

  “Nice try. I don’t love you that much! Give me your shorts and shirt, you fool!” she laughed.

  She had put yet another pot of water on to heat after she had done the first bunch of shirts and she was getting worried about their water supply again. Even with the two extra jugs that they had got at the last town, they would have to find more every day. Dara was cleaning herself up in the tent while Alex finished washing the extra clothes and she passed out her dirty clothes with the promise to take on the next night’s laundry duty. By the time she had hung up the last shirt to dry, her hands were aching from the hot water and wringing out the clothes. She couldn’t help but think of all the simple things they used to take for granted. Turn the washer on and walk away, voila! Clean clothes. Turn the microwave on and walk away - instant hot food. Everything was so much work now - but the worst was the dead piece of plastic she had left back in the sports store. Not being able to instantly talk to her parents or friends was killing her. The total uncertainty of what was happening at home was so hard. With a sigh, she tilted her watch to the lantern’s light and saw it was just after eight. She had to laugh at herself for wanting to go to bed. Most nights it was close to midnight before she would go to sleep and for the last two nights, she was out by nine.

  Alex scanned their campsite and saw everything was put away so she joined the boys at the extinguished campfire. They were working out the night’s guard schedule. Alex and Dara had not taken a turn at the motel so she offered to stand a watch tonight.

  “Thanks, Alex, but last night doesn’t really count. Except for Quinn who had to wake up in the middle of the night, it was pretty easy sitting in that room so we decided that Josh will go first until midnight and then he’ll wake me up and I’ll wake Quinn at three,” Cooper told her just as Dara joined them.

  Dara disagreed right away. “I’ll take the last watch so Quinn gets a full night’s sleep. It’s really sweet that you guys are trying to let us off watch but don’t forget - Quinn and Josh are pulling the trailers. Quinn, you need rest. Alex needs tonight off but she will be ready to take her turn tomorrow night. Right, Alex?”

  “You bet. I’m sure I could stand a watch tonight. I’m sorry about earlier but I feel much better now.”

  Everyone shook their heads at that so she agreed that she would take her turn the next night.

  “One more thing before we turn in, guys. The fire i
s already out, but we need to keep the lantern off too. It’s like a beacon to anyone out there, advertising that we’re here, and the light would ruin any night vision, making it harder for us to see anything coming our way. So, keep the lantern close but keep it off unless you need it. Don’t take any chances, if you think someone’s coming, wake us up. Better safe than sorry.”

  Alex shivered, thinking about sitting out here all alone in the dark. From all the camping she had done at home, she knew that outside sounds in the night could be scary. Crawling into her sleeping bag was so sweet for about two minutes, then all the grounds bumps could be felt in her sore muscles. Her last thought before sleep took her was that they would need to find more toilet paper.

  Chapter Nine

  Alex was dreaming. She was in her comfy bed at home and could hear her mother rattling dishes while making breakfast. She could smell coffee and their dog, Dawson, was barking.

  “Mom, let the dog out!” she called, and it was the sound of her own voice that woke her.

  She had called out in her sleep. She tried to recapture sleep and drift off to that warm feeling of being in her own bed but the dog was still barking. Opening her eyes and staring up at the roof of the tent, she was jolted by how bright it was. She scrambled for her watch and saw it was after seven. Doing the math, she realized that she had slept for more than ten hours.

  Wow, I must have really needed that, she thought.

  Crawling out of the sleeping bag, she pulled on her boots and wondered why no one had woken her. It was as she went to unzip the tent flap that she saw Dara sleeping on the other side of the tent. Oh no, Dara was supposed to be on watch. Debating on whether to wake her or not, she heard someone cough outside and decided to go out first to see what was happening. As quietly as possible she let herself out of the tent and zipped it back up. Quinn was the only one up and out, so she went over to see what was going on. Both of the trailers and all the saddlebags were emptied out and he was organizing their supplies.

  “Good morning,” she greeted him. “I was going to do that this morning. Try to make it easier to find the stuff we need when we stop. Isn’t it kind of late? What happened to Dara taking the last watch?” she asked.

  “Good morning to you too,” he smiled at her rapid-fire questions and handed her his coffee to share. “I woke up at five-thirty and couldn’t get back to sleep, so I took over from her and she went back to bed. I thought we would have a later start today. Our bodies need time to adjust to all this biking.”

  The barking dog started up again and he turned to look that way.

  “I didn’t notice any houses nearby last night, did you?” Alex asked him.

  “No, and I still can’t see any. It’s coming from further down this road.”

  He frowned at the almost frantic tone of the barking and focused back on the supplies when the barking went silent again.

  Turning back to the piles of supplies herself, Alex was strangely pleased to see they had a six-pack of toilet paper. Shrugging her shoulders, she started to organize with Quinn. She was happy to see all the things that Cooper had gotten at the store that would make things easier. When Quinn unearthed the cartons of cigarettes and condoms Alex was quick to explain Cooper’s barter idea.

  “He’s smart. I’m glad he’s with us. He thinks of things that the rest of us wouldn’t. It’s a real asset. Do you like him?” Quinn asked without warning, staring at Alex with his penetrating blue eyes.

  Alex was immediately flustered. “Sure, I mean, yeah, he’s a great guy. I mean, it’s good he’s with us to help along the way…I’m going to make more coffee,” she stammered out and went to rush away to the stove, almost tripping over a pile of tarps.

  When she got to the stove, she forced herself to take a deep breath and calm down. She knew Quinn was still looking at her, unsatisfied with her answer. She wasn’t ready to think about Cooper that way, let alone talk to Quinn about it. She and Quinn had always had an underlining tension to their relationship. They often paired up on projects and in group situations but it had never developed into more than friendship. Alex shook her head in disbelief.

  The end of the world as we know it and I’m having boy problems, she thought. Really?

  Alex started to check on all the clothes she had hung up to dry last night and was happy that most were only damp around the seams. Her cargo pants were the worst, so she laid them out in a patch of sunlight and hoped for the best. The others started to emerge from their tents so she got busy making pancake mix up and decided to make a double batch so she could add ham to it for a lunch version. They could pack it to go in one of the disposable containers she had bought and it would make a ready lunch later on. As the first few cooked in the camp pan, she cut up the canned ham for the later batch. Every now and then, she lifted her head, looking in the direction the barking seemed to be coming from. Dishing up the first few plates, she noticed the others often looking that way as well.

  After everyone had eaten, Cooper cleaned the pans, Josh started to take the tents down and Dara, Alex, and Quinn packed up and reorganized supplies into the trailers and saddlebags. They worked it out so everyone’s backpacks had their own personal supplies like extra clothes and toiletries as well as a small amount of dry food and water.

  As they were putting their packs on and getting ready to head back to the highway, the barking changed to a mournful howl that Alex felt pierce her heart. It was the saddest sound. They got on their bikes and wheeled out to the side road that would take them back to the highway. Alex was in the lead and she came to a stop, looking in the direction they were meant to go, and then slowly looked the other way in the direction of the sad howling.

  Everyone was looking at her expectantly. “I don’t know,” she said. “It feels like we should check… like we’re meant to check. I don’t know.” She frowned, feeling uncertain. “Something makes me feel like we have to. Do you guys understand?”

  It was Cooper that broke the silence. “I always try and go with my gut feeling, so if yours is telling you we should go, then we should.” He looked to the rest for confirmation and they all nodded agreement.

  “Okay, let’s go check on the sad dog but everyone be ready for trouble just in case,” Quinn warned.

  The group headed away from the highway and further down Ghost Road. It didn’t take long before they came over a rise and saw a square of trees planted around a house with a couple of outbuildings. There was a driveway with an open gate set ten feet off the road. It was hard to see the property with the trees surrounding it, but as they came even with the driveway, a Golden Retriever raced toward them. It stopped at the gate and started to bark and whine at them, doing the classic doggy ‘follow me’ dance at them and then turn back with an ‘are you coming’ look over its shoulder.

  Josh joked, “Do you think its name is Lassie and Timmy’s in the well?”

  “Ha-ha, very funny, Josh,” Alex said sarcastically. “It definitely wants us to follow, so let’s go see,” she said as she started slowly down the driveway.

  The dog took off ahead and cut towards the house across the lawn. As they got closer, they could see it was barking at them from beside a flower bush. There was a mound of dirt with a shovel sticking out of it and the dog was standing over a crumpled form of a man lying on the ground. Without hesitating, Alex dumped her bike and rushed toward the man. The dog’s whine changed to a growl and Alex dropped to her knees a few feet away at the warning.

  “Oh, poor puppy, I’m so sorry. It’s okay, it’s okay now. We’ll help. Come here, baby.” Alex cooed to the dog and held out her hands in a non-threatening way. At the tone, the dog went to its belly and slid closer to her. Once it was close enough, the dog sniffed at her hands and with a whine, nudged under them so she could rub its head. Keeping up a steady stream of nonsensical baby talk, the dog was soon her best friend, and with a wagging tail, moved over so she could check on the man. Staying on her knees to keep the dog calm, she reached for the man and checked for
a pulse.

  “Good dog, what a good boy,” she told him as she felt the dog stiffen when she reached for his owner. He settled his body alongside the man and rested his head on the man’s chest, whining softly.

  Alex guessed the man was in his sixties or early seventies. He had a weak pulse and was breathing shallowly. Alex smoothed back his white hair and felt his skin to be very dry. She dumped her backpack off and grabbed a water bottle and washcloth out of it. Wetting the cloth, she wiped the man’s face down and squeezed a few drops into his mouth. The water seemed to bring him around some and he let out a groan so she squeezed more water out for him. The dog lifted his head and gave a half-hearted growl at something behind Alex. The man’s hand came up and rested it on the dogs back, calming it as his eyes fluttered open. When he seemed to focus on Alex, she gave him a reassuring smile.

  “Hi, looks like you took a little fall here. Can you handle some water?” she said brightly to keep him calm.

  He nodded, so Alex held the water bottle to his lips. “Not too much. Let’s save the heavy drinking for when you’re back on your feet,” she joked.

  Alex had volunteered at the senior’s home in her town and knew that fear and confusion was the first thing a person feels when they become aware after waking. She kept her tone light and fun so the man would know he was safe.

  As he took sips from the bottle, she kept talking. “My name is Alex and your beautiful dog persuaded me and my friends to come and help you.” When he made an attempt to sit up, she braced herself behind him to help. “I’d like to get you out of the sun. Is it okay if some of my friends help?”

  The man looked past her to the group standing off to the side. They hadn’t wanted to upset the dog so they stayed back. He nodded again so Alex turned to her friends.

  “Cooper, can you grab a patio chair and put it in the shade, please? Josh, Quinn, will you help him into it?”