Escaping Home Read online

  “How is Emmett holding up? He is welcome out anytime, Nate,” Betty stated.

  “Nate, did you find out anything else?” Henry asked.

  Nate knew what his father was referring to.

  “It’s ok, Nate…I already told your mom,” Henry added, ignoring the slight sneer from Betty’s gaze.

  “I didn’t see anything I was looking for, but there are many people in town that are not from Fritch. After I discussed with Emmett the concerns and rumors possibly headed to town, he asked if I would consider a recon mission. I told him I would think about it and get back with him. He has a contact in town that has Ham ability to reach you, dad.”

  “What exactly do you mean a recon mission? Like go look somewhere?” Betty asked.

  “I think he wants me to travel a ways outside of town to see if I can spot anyone headed in great numbers.”

  “How far Nate?” Betty asked, being the ever-concerned mother. She knew he could handle himself. She wasn’t in the dark about his abilities, but she couldn’t help feeling concerned about his having just gotten home.

  “Not far, maybe a day’s travel. Stop, observe, and see what I can, then head back,” he replied.

  “It always sounds easy, son; but you know nothing ever goes as planned,” Henry reminded Nate.

  Ben was just starting to get that Nate might be leaving for a few days. He didn’t like the sound of it all.

  “Dad, why do you have to go? Why can’t someone else?”

  It was a good question; a glaring one at that. Why did he feel the need to do this? Why after just traveling over 700 miles, did he need to do anything? Nate thought about his question further.

  His parents stood waiting for Nate to reply. This was his time to be a parent.

  “Ben, I need to for you, and my parents, and for the people of Fritch. I am trained to do these sorts of things. We need to know to the best of our abilities what is out there so we can protect ourselves,” Nate replied.

  “Ok dad, I just don’t want you to leave,” Ben replied.

  Nate hugged Ben then spoke again. “I don’t want to either, but I will not be gone long. That I promise,” Nate said.

  The evening was getting late. Nate and Ben said goodnight to his parents with more discussions and plans to come the following day. Both headed home with Ben telling Nate of the pictures he was shown earlier. Nate turned to his parents still standing outside.

  “What pictures did you show him? Lord, I hope it’s not my sixth grade photos,” Nate expressed, smiling. That was not a good year for his hair. It couldn’t decide whether to be straight or curly.

  *****

  Nate was in bed contemplating the next few days. How was he going to get east that fast and safely? He wished he had an old AM General Humvee. He planned to take the Tundra, but wished he had some kind of armor. Something bigger then he thought about all the semis parked south of town that Emmett spoke about. Perhaps he could use one of them for his trip. It would have to be part of the deal. Nate could pick out the best one for the journey and haul ass east.

  Nate’s thoughts were interrupted by the muffled sounds of Samson playing downstairs with Ben. It was nearly 11:00 P.M. and the two were still awake. Nate rolled over and closed his eyes. He was glad that Ben was having somewhat of a normal childhood now. It was nice to hear the giggling and laughter. Having Samson in the mix was a blessing; he was their natural alarm system.

  Nate’s thoughts slowly fell back to the current state of affairs. Nate had some ideas about the scouting mission. He even knew the way he wanted to take, believing the most probable path people would take would be the largest interstate in the area. Yet again, his mind was paying more attention to the laughing downstairs. He tried to focus on exactly what Ben was saying to the dog, and after a few more minutes, Nate was asleep.

  Nate couldn’t understand what Ben was saying to the dog because he was speaking softly to the Lord, saying a prayer. Ben was at the side of his bed with Samson in a sitting position. Long ago, Ben’s grandmother had taught him the power of prayer and the gospels of Jesus. Over the years, he and his grandmother did not attend church very often due to her decline in heath. However, he would always pray when he could. Often this meant silently, and to himself.

  Ben knew from his conversations with Nate in the past few hours, that he would be praying more often. Ben may not have understood a lot about the world, but he had received a crash course as of late, in world affairs, economics, and how men can turn on each other quickly when resources were nowhere to be found. The courage Ben discovered in him came from being close to Nate during troubled times on their journey home. Overall, Ben was feeling good; but he still held onto the everyday fears that any teen his age feels. The next few days he needed to be stronger than before; never having been apart from Nate for more than a few hours. These would be trying times for Ben; but with Samson, his God sent assistant, he felt safe.

  *****

  Nate and his small family were just finishing up breakfast when there was a frantic knock at the door. Nate knew by the knock that it was his father. He dried the cold soapy water from his hands. Even with the changes in the world, there are still dirty dishes, Nate thought to himself. He opened the door to see his dad smiling.

  “Dad, what is it? I haven’t seen you smile like that since you killed that mountain lion a few years back.”

  Nate was referring to a time when they lost many cattle to one particular mountain lion they affectionately named Target, because it was targeted for removal.

  “You remember giving me the call letters for your friends up in Wyoming? The Hartford’s?” Henry asked excitedly. Nate knew then that his father had made contact.

  “Yes, please tell me you made contact?” Nate asked, now becoming excited himself.

  “Yep, have Gene on the horn as we speak. He is waiting to talk to you,” Henry said, motioning for Nate to come along.

  “Ben, finish up the dishes and take Samson out again. I think he needs to go after eating your eggs, again!” Nate said with a smirk look on his face.

  Ben smiled.

  “I will be back in a few minutes. If you need me use the walkie-talkie. I have mine with me,” Nate said, grabbing up his radio and his pistol.

  Nate and his father climbed into Henry’s Gator UTV and quickly headed back up to his parents’ place.

  On the way, Henry told Nate not to be worried about using the typical Ham radio lingo, but to try to keep the conversations quick and to the point. In moments, they were pulling up to the rear of the home. Nate followed his dad into a small shed away from the house. The shed was his father’s hobby shack as he liked to call it. Near the shack was one large three-tier antenna reaching to the sky. The roof of the shack was covered with solar panels. The inside was bright from the skylight installed, and one dimly lit light over a desk that held the Ham radio setup.

  Henry sat down and pulled the professional looking microphone to his face.

  “W7ABC, do you copy?” Henry asked.

  The crackle came through, then cleared. Henry adjusted a knob on his base station.

  “W7ABC copies you. Henry, do you have Nate now?” the familiar voice made Nate smile.

  “Hey Gene, Nate here. So happy to hear your voice. How is everyone there?” Nate asked.

  The pause in communications was short before Gene replied. “We are all safe. Your father told me when you made it back and that you picked up a son along the way. We are so happy you made it back, Nate. Sammie would like to say hello also.”

  Nate wondered about her from time to time. He didn’t think he would be able to talk to any of them for some time to come. Nate felt some eyes looking at him as he turned to see his father looking at him quizzing with his eyes and expression over this Sammie name.

  “Nate, are you there?” the soft voice asked.

  Nate immediately could see her image in his mind from the last and only time they met. He knew there was something about her; he sensed it from the start.
He was certain she did too by the looks she gave him. He was grateful for all the stuff she loaded and prepared for his trip home. She had taken time to think through what he needed and that impressed Nate.

  “I’m here, Sammie; so glad to hear your voice. Thank you for that bag of goodies, it came in very handy along the way,” Nate replied. He waited for her words, feeling like a teen on the phone again for a first time girlfriend even though that wasn’t the case…yet.

  “You are welcome. I can’t imagine the trip you took. Someday you will have to tell me more about it. So, do you still have the compass?” she asked.

  Nate turned red or felt like he was.

  “Yes, I do. It helped keep me in the right frame of mind. Thank you,” Nate replied chuckling some now as he could also hear her doing the same before her next words. Nate wondered if her parents were also right there wondering what this was forming into.

  “Nate, we heard across the Ham network some pretty scary stuff happening down in Texas. One of my dad’s contacts mentioned a bad explosion at a few nuclear plants; one near the Dallas area, the others near Houston,” Sammie said.

  Nate turned to look up at his father. His face was one of shock. Henry and Gene had not gotten that far in the conversation.

  “We know about the one near the Dallas area, Sammie; but didn’t hear about the others. How are things up your way?” Nate asked.

  Every minute that went by, Nate felt more and more like things were escalating faster than he could react. Some thoughts were entering his mind that he didn’t wish to consider.

  “Mostly quite. I guess living this far north keeps many from wanting to come up here due to the cold weather. As you know, it takes a certain breed of people to live here. We have lost many neighbors to sickness, and some fled thinking they would fare better in warmer climates,” she explained.

  “We have lost many in our nearby town. Not sure how this will all play out, Sammie,” Nate expressed honestly.

  “Sammie, did you all know about the EMPs that were detonated over the east coast?” Nate asked.

  There was a longer pause now. Then the soft voice came through, but with sobs.

  “No, we didn’t know that. Oh my Lord, what has this world come to?” she said, sobbing more now on the radio. Nate could hear Marcus voice trying to console the nurse that is her daughter.

  “It’s a changing world, Sammie; but you and your family are strong. We will get through this. Time will see to this all,” Nate said, trying to reassure her but knowing it may not be ok. Times may become even darker; trials and tribulations unimaginable. However, Nate was, and would always be, an optimist. He knew he was right…time would heal many things. Scars always would remain, but the process of life would go forward.

  “I hope you are right. I also hope maybe we can talk again in a few days. Maybe to keep each other up to date on things we find out?” Sammie asked.

  Nate was already thinking the same things.

  “That sounds like a good plan. I will be gone for a day, then maybe this same time in forty-eight hours we can talk?” Nate asked.

  Nate stretched back in the seat and felt his father’s hands on his shoulders. Henry always told Nate that he had shoulders broad enough to hold the weight of the world. Nate was feeling tired from doing so. He served his country time and time again; watched friends die. Now all he wished for was a simple life. The thoughts of running head first down a highway just to see who might be coming over the hill wasn’t appealing. Too many things could go wrong with such a plan. The number one thing that bugged him the most was the feeling in his gut when he thought about the mission. That long trusted feeling was back; it was punching him like a prizefighter over and over. There had to be a better way, a different approach to discovering the information he needed. So far he could not figure that portion out.

  “Sammie you take care, I will talk to you and Gene soon,” Nate said.

  “Ok Nate, you do the same. I think my dad wants to talk to your dad some more” she replied.

  “Ok, talk later,” Nate said, moving up from the chair. Henry sat down and got Gene back on the radio. Nate told his dad he was headed back to the cabin for now. Henry nodded. As he left, Nate could hear Gene’s voice again talking to his father about some old truck Gene had he was trying to get running. Nate smiled. He was glad his dad was making a new friend, especially one like Gene. They had much in common.

  Chapter 5

  Radio Chatter

  The news from Sammie and Gene about the other nuclear plant explosions gave Nate reason to pause. He considered the vast population that lived in and around Houston. Those people would not be moving east because of the likely fall out patterns. Perhaps they would head toward San Antonio, using I-10, filling up that city and its flat terrain. However, the question remained how many were still moving west trying to find areas that they could resettle, creating a new life. It was only a Marcus of time before the majority of the state’s population would need to move to the isolated safer regions like Fritch. Even with all of this pressing on his mind, Nate considered themselves lucky they didn’t live on the east coast. He could not begin to imagine the utter devastation that the collapse brought there, let alone the two EMPs that struck.

  Over the next few hours, Nate pulled out his get home bag and slowly prepped it for the trip he still planned to take to recon the nearby town of Borger. According to the major, no one had heard from them in sometime; leading to speculations. Ben was helping Nate gather some items when another knock at the door came. His dad had a two-way radio, but even though he talked on Ham radio, he didn’t like using the handheld.

  Nate opened the door.

  “Nate, just got off the radio with a few operators in some nearby towns. I don’t think you have to go anywhere,” he said, seeming out of breath as he continued.

  “A friend over in Mclean, and one in Groom, have both said they have been overrun with tens of thousands of people. Apparently they are arriving by the stolen greyhound busload. People are on the back of loaded down semi flatbed trailers, and all kinds of smaller vehicles. Son, they are coming,” Henry said.

  Nate sat down.

  “Well, at least as we know, they are south of us,” Nate replied, almost relieved he didn’t need to leave now.

  “There is more, Nate. I have another contact that said the town of Panhandle has over 20,000 population now, and still moving north,” Henry added. Henry knew that news would change things.

  “Panhandle? Great,” Nate replied, now standing and walking around with his hand to his head.

  The other towns were further south right on the interstate, Panhandle was north of I-40, and that meant they and others were likely using maps to find natural water sources. The only part of the equation now was how many people were coming. But, Nate knew even that unknown didn’t really Marcus. If 20,000 or even half that number arrives in Fritch, it would cause chaos. It would reap so many unknowns upon the community. There were always certainties in scenarios like this one…being the element of the bad people. Yes, maybe some would be good with innocent intentions to survive. Nate didn’t, or couldn’t, fault them from fleeing. It was the bad individuals that usually took advantage, and often took over. In the end, Nate knew that far more people over the next month or so would arrive in town and spread out taking over lands, basically reverting back to a time similar to the great land rush of 1889 in Oklahoma. The thought of big city dwellers living and consuming private held lands, some since the 1800s made him ill. It was a force he could not repel. They would come not unlike the fire ants. They would dig up and settle, taking over patches of land.

  “Nate, you know what we must do,” Henry asked.

  “Yes dad; have you spoken to mom?” Nate asked.

  “Yes, and surprisingly she is in agreement,” Henry replied.

  Nate was surprised by this, but his mom was a strong, practical person.

  “So, we are in agreement?” Henry asked.

  “Yes, we have no cho
ice but to do a tactical retreat,” Nate said.

  He turned to look at Ben and saw the confused look across his face. Nate would have to break the news to Ben. Once again, they would be on the road, going somewhere; but Nate, for the moment, wasn’t sure where. Ben already grew to love this place as home. Explaining to him why they must go would be difficult.

  Over the next few hours, Nate explained much of the current news about the Houston area and in detail about the massive amounts of people headed their way. Ben was silent for the longest time. Ben’s mind was full of the possibilities of living on the land, and leaving it was filling him with sorrow. Nate could sense this, and tried to reassure him to the best of his ability.

  “What will we take with us? How will we move all of this?” Ben asked, looking around the cabin.

  This was becoming very hard even for Nate to deal with. He built the cabin with his own hands. He hated the idea of leaving any of it. It was a gamble to stay, and one that he couldn’t take. If it were just him alone, he probably would stay. He would stay and fight off anyone coming to take what was his. But it wasn’t just his life now. His parents couldn’t hold out for long under attack; not even the old sniper, Henry.

  “Ben, I am not certain what we will be able to take with us. When I say us I mean all of us, son,” Nate replied truthfully. He had no idea yet what they could rationally carry and in which vehicles. Regardless of what they did, they would become targets. Nate needed to formulate a path once again for the least resistance. That is once he figured out where in the world they would go.

  “Come here Ben,” Nate asked as Ben walked forward. Nate hugged his son.

  “You have my word, I will still try my best to give you a good life and protect you at all cost,” Nate expressed.

  “I was just starting to love this place. I mean I did from the first night,” Ben replied. “Where will we go, dad?” Ben asked.

  Nate paused. “I wish I knew, Ben,” Nate replied.

  Nate and Ben went down to talk with his parents some more about the idea of leaving. Ben was helping Betty in the kitchen prepare lunch. Henry and Nate were both outside talking about what to possibly take.