Sweetness in the Dark (7 page)

“Did you continue waiting on his answer?” Paul asked.

“No, I don’t take kindly to being shot at. I took all three out in turn. Then I heard their car in the distance and I got back to you,” Ed said. “These other two were in the car when it crashed. Had to waste a bullet on the second one. I hate that. Bullets are valuable.”

Paul didn’t have an answer. He just stared at the carnage.
But with a car, maybe we won’t have to walk to Boise after all
, he thought.

A shot followed by another broke his dream of riding. Ed was gone before the second shot went still. Paul followed along, heading to where the kids were. Ed flew into the brush and Paul heard him announce himself.

“We’re OK,” Amanda yelled in response. Paul ran to the boulder hiding the children, and in the dim light, saw Ed pulling on a body lying face down in the river. He checked it and then walked over to another body a short distance away.

“What happened?” Paul asked as he finally climbed down the bank.

“We heard a car coming and the shooting followed by a crash. Then more shots and we were getting nervous. Then all of a sudden two men loomed up standing on the road just above us. When they saw us, they ran down here and…,” Amanda trailed off.

“Dad, Amanda drilled them both. She was great!” Matt joined in.

“Good work troop. You did the right thing,” the general offered. “Now, let’s see if that car still works. We might not have sore feet after all.”

Paul was still reeling. Amanda had shot these two, and the whole time he hadn’t even fired a shot. He walked over to her and put his arm around her. He could feel her trembling. He pulled her tight. She put her arm around him for support and started to cry.

“As the general said, ‘You did good.” Paul comforted her. She had saved the children from who-knows-what fate. He was grateful to this woman for staying calm when it counted. Two shots, two dead bodies, he’d remember that.

Meredith and Matt came over and joined the hug. The general had his grandkids in his arms, carrying them up the hillside. Paul moved his team to join him.

Upon reaching the car, Ed opened the trunk. He pulled out some baggies with white powder in them. He broke them and threw the contents on the ground.

“Druggies. Out looking for some thrills tonight, I figure. Riggins must be about worn out by now if this is what’s going on there,” Ed said.

South of Riggins, Idaho

Ed climbed in the car and turned the key. The old Chevy sedan fired up. He shoved the car into reverse. He backed it out of the bushes and up onto the highway. Turning it off, he got out, walked around and popped the hood.

Training his flashlight, he announced. “Except for a bent bumper and grill, it looks fine. No leaking water or oil from the crash. There’s a blanket in the trunk we can throw over the bloody seats. Let’s move out, in case they had friends.”

Paul took up position behind the driver so he could watch the rear. Ed climbed into the driver’s seat and Amanda and Matt joined him. The two grandkids got the back seat with Meredith. Ed put it in gear and leaving the headlights off, headed down Highway 95.

Things went smoothly as they climbed up out of the Salmon Canyon heading toward the high plateau that held New Meadows. The road continued to follow the Little Salmon River and the Northern Lights offered enough visibility to see the yellow center line.

Paul had been this way many times. As they grew closer to New Meadows he realized that if there would be a problem, there was one place up ahead that would be the most likely spot. He nudged Ed to pull over and stop the car.

‘We’re getting close to New Meadows, General. If the town is nervous about intruders from the north, there’s one place up ahead that is the perfect spot for a roadblock,” Paul said. He remembered the highway in its last climb out of the canyon, passed a very narrow rock cut. A couple of logs and some guards on the high walls would slow down anyone coming that way.

“We’ll dismount and wait for daylight. Then we’ll approach on foot,” Ed said. “Everyone try to get some rest.” He looked in and his grandkids were already fast asleep in the back seat. Amanda came over to Paul and the two of them found a soft spot of pine needles to lay on. With their backpacks for pillows, Amanda fell quickly asleep with Paul’s arm around her.

“Can I join you?” Meredith asked.

“Of course, Sweetheart. You’re always welcome,” Paul said. She laid down and fell asleep as he placed his other arm around her. Matt joined Ed in standing guard. Paul realized that Matt would need more skills in survival and hoped the general could start teaching him soon.

* * *

Paul awoke with a start as his foot was bumped. He opened his eyes to see Ed standing over him. The two women in his life stirred at the motion. Paul moved his arms carefully, trying to get some blood flowing.

“Doc, you drive this morning. I’ll jog ahead and watch for any roadblocks. Matt can have the rifle, but keep it out of sight. The less aggressive we appear to any locals, the better,” Ed explained.

Everyone grabbed something to eat and drank water. The little kids were still asleep when they all climbed in to go. Ed started out walking briskly, with no weapons showing. Soon he picked up the pace to a slow jog. Paul followed in the old Chevy in first gear.

Amanda had climbed into the back seat to watch the kids with Meredith. Matt rode ‘shotgun’ with the rifle leaning against the seat.

Paul watched as Ed disappeared around a large rock outcropping. The river was on their left now and the highway narrowly skirted the cliff up ahead. Paul eased the Chevy around the turn and quickly hit the brakes.

About a hundred feet up ahead a log barricade had been placed in the road and Ed stood with his hands raised.. Paul turned off the car, and climbed out. With hands raised, he stood next to the open door.

“Who goes there? And what’s your business?” a voice from behind the barricade yelled.

“I’m General Ed Gale of the Idaho National Guard. We’re trying to get back to my command in Boise.”

“You don’t look like no general, Mister. Where’s your uniform?”

“I was on vacation when the lights went out. My family is in the car. Will you let us pass?” Ed asked.

“Advance. I assume you got some ID. And no funny stuff or Virgil here will drill you,” the voice said.

Ed walked slowly up to the barricade. He carefully announced in loud terms that he would reach for his wallet to pull out his military ID. He turned sideways so that the guards could watch his hand as he retrieved his wallet.

Taking out the photo ID, he held it up high so the men could see it. One of them stood up and climbed over the barricade.

“I can’t see it so well from over there,” the man admitted as he walked up to Ed. “Yep, General Edward Gale. That looks like you. Who else is with you?”

“Doctor Paul Kendall and his family. They were floating the Salmon when things went out. We’ve teamed up to get back to Boise. Any word on the road south, Sir?” Ed asked.

“There’s plenty of trouble around McCall. All those rich folks down there are attracting all sorts of problems at a time like this. What those bastards are going to do with all that stuff they’re stealing is beyond me, but all hell broke loose.”

“More reason I need to get back and get things under control,” Ed said.

“Then I’d be taking the back way. There’s a road down through the valley between McCall and Council that should be fine. Regular folks down there,” the man offered. “Here, we’ll get the log moved so you can drive around.”

“Any news from the Capital?” Ed asked about Boise.

“A couple on mountain bikes came through here two days ago heading north. They’d left Boise the day after the bang. Said it was scary as people realized what had happened and they descended on the grocery stores. Said it was getting out of hand as they rode out on Highway 55,” the man said. “But that’s the only news we’ve had.”

“Thanks. Has the Washington County Search and Rescue responded here yet?” Ed asked.

“Who do you think we are? Been here since we set up the roadblock the day after yesterday. We’ve got more people down by McCall keeping an eye on those bastards. They try to head up here, they’ll be surprised,” the man answered.

“Good work then, carry on,” Ed said. These men were technically now under his command if the governor had officially declared a State of Emergency. And if this wasn’t a State of Emergency, Ed couldn’t imagine what would be.

“Yes Sir, General. Glad to have you pass our checkpoint. We’ll be waiting for the real troops to come and relieve us, Sir.”

“Soldier, you are the troops protecting Idaho now. All of you Search and Rescue people. That’s what you’ve been training for. Good luck,” the general said. He saluted the guards and motioned Paul to drive around the logs. The guards made a good attempt at saluting back, except for one quiet soldier in the back.

Ed looked at him and the man snapped a perfect salute. He appeared to be in his sixties and carried a Colt AR-15, like he knew his work. As Ed studied the man, the man spoke.

“Sergeant Frank Bowers. Fifth Marines, Sir. Pleiku, Vietnam. You can rely on these boys. I’ll make sure of it.”

“USS
Scorpion
out of Subic Bay, Philippines myself. Long time ago, Sergeant. Carry on then. They’re in good hands.” Ed returned the salute. “Semper Fi.”

“Hoorah, Sir,” the old sergeant returned.

Paul pulled the car around the road block and stopped. He got out to let Ed drive. Everyone took their positions as Ed put the car in gear and pulled away. The guards struggled moving the log back into position and returned to watching the road to the north.

Driving through the center of New Meadows drew stares from the few locals out. Ed kept the Chevy moving slowly as he maneuvered around the dead vehicles clogging the road. The center had been busy the evening the lights went out. Now, nonfunctional vehicles were half shoved to the side of the road.

Finding the road suggested by the guard, Ed turned down the highway. They made good time as they traveled south through the quiet valley. Farms and ranches spread out on either side of the road. It was hard to imagine that such a peaceful scene hid the true extent of the sun’s attack.

Here in the daylight everything looked normal. Cows were grazing and horses ran through their paddocks. You just had to ignore the fact that there were no vehicles moving except their Chevy.

Suddenly the Chevy started knocking loudly. Ed hit the brakes and pulled it onto the shoulder. He switched off the engine as everyone piled out of the car. Ed reached under the hood for the latch, opening it to a stream of smoke coming from the side of the engine.

Oil was still squirting out of a crack onto the hot manifold and vaporizing instantly. Oily smoke wafted up under the hood and out into the open.

“Looks like the engine block split. Must have been split before, but the hot driving cracked it open. I’m afraid our ride just died,” Ed said.

Everyone groaned. They had all been excited about riding all the way to Boise. They gathered up their backpacks and formed a line. Ed took the point and started off.

“Look at the bright side. At least we rode halfway there,” Paul said. They all agreed that seventy miles of riding was way better than three days of hard walking. Everyone settled into a steady pace down the valley.

By noon the grandkids were done in. Ed started to load up the four-year-old boy to carry him when Paul stopped him. “You are our security. You can’t be encumbered if we run into trouble. Matt and I will carry the grandkids.”

“And don’t forget us,” Amanda and Meredith both chimed.

“Thank you. If they get to be too much, we’ll stop,” Ed said.

They shifted their loads around and then took two cloth shirts and made head straps to put around each child's bottom. With the load distributed onto their heads, Matt and Paul leaned into their load and started walking.

“Hey Matt. Remember those pictures from my trip to Nepal years ago? Now you know how they felt carrying those big baskets with nothing but their heads,” Paul said.

“Yeah, Dad, I’ve been holding my breath ever since I saw those slides to experience this,” Matt said.

As the sun approached the top of the ridge, they made camp by a creek. They pulled out their food supplies and decided to make a one pot concoction over Ed’s backpack stove. Mixing all sorts of ingredients together, they cooked it up into a stew. Everyone agreed that it was the best meal they’d ever eaten.

Since it didn’t look like rain, everyone rolled out sleeping bags onto pads and settled in for the night.

“Anyone notice something?” Amanda asked as the stars came out.

“There’s no Northern Lights tonight. It’s really dark,” Matt answered.

Everyone stared at the night sky and wondered what this meant. Paul wasn’t sure that it meant the sun calmed down, or that it meant things would start to return to normal.

* * *

In the morning, they all awoke with a start. A vehicle approached their little wayside. A vehicle that was backfiring, but moving. They scrambled out of their sleeping bags and rushed up onto the road.

Approaching from the south was an old 1940’s Ford flatbed truck. It backfired again as it pulled to a stop beside them. The driver switched off the engine and the truck let out one last large bang. About ten people in the back stood up over the stake bed sides to look down on Paul’s group.

The driver climbed out of his cab and stretched his back. “Where you folks coming from?”

“We were all at Riggins when the light went out,” Paul said. “Where you coming from?”

“Boise. Left there early this morning. Finally got this old timer running, but as you can tell, it ain’t running too good.”

Excited for news of Boise, Ed and Paul both stumbled over themselves getting the next question out. “What’s happening in the city?”

“Lights came back on last night. Although they were off again soon after. Seems they were testing things out. I guess the Northern Lights finally settled down and they could put the power back on.”