Bug Out! Part 12: RV Alliance (18 page)

“Malcolm told the FBI about it. I think they’re coming over as soon as they’re done in Indianapolis.”

“Hope they come soon. You sound like you’re on the road.”

“We are,” Gabe said. “Heading back to our home base in a panic.”

“Uh oh, what’s wrong?”

“We can’t raise them on the phone,” Gabe said. “Any of them.”

“You still coming back by here?”

“Yeah, but I doubt if we’ll be stopping. We’ll check with you on the phone, though. Maybe we can stop if he’s still there.”

“How far out are you?” she asked.

“We’re hoping to cross the Mississippi by mid-morning,” Gabe said. “We’re in two cars now. Might not be able to drive much past there before we rest a spell.”

“Okay,” Sue said. “I’ll keep trying Sheriff Branson.”

“If I hear anything, I’ll let you know,” Gabe said. “Malcolm has a direct line to the FBI folks who are doing the investigation at that storage yard.”

“Thanks,” she said. She hung up the phone and walked out into the park. She could still see the small class C, near the pool. The lights were on inside. She saw two girls approach and knock on the door.
Oh no.
The door opened and a teenaged boy came out. Something wasn’t right about the way he moved. He looked slow. Sue walked towards the pool area to get a closer look. She recognized the girls as she got closer. They came in with the big diesel pusher the night before. The three were sitting in chairs next to the coach, talking. She was walking by the spa when she heard a soft murmur. She whirled around.

“Sue!” said a voice out of the darkness. “Not cooking tonight?”

She stared until she could make out the couple. Scott and his woman. A shudder went through her.

“Everything okay, honey?” asked Cindy. “We didn’t mean to startle you.”

“Oh, sorry,” she said. “I was just making the rounds. We’ve got a light out over the spa. It’s hard to see who’s here.”

“I think you ought to leave it this way,” Scott said with a chuckle.

“Can’t, it’s an insurance issue,” she said. “It’ll be fixed next week.”

“You’re staff is here tonight?” Scott asked.

“Yes, everybody’s here. The kitchen’s fully staffed if you’re interested in a meal. It’ll be better than what I made you. I’m no chef.”

“On the contrary, those were superb burgers you made us,” Scott said, piling on the phony charm. “If you’re off, perhaps you’d like to join us in here.”

“No, thanks,” she said. “I’ve got to finish my rounds. Have fun, you two.”

“Good night,” Cindy said.

Sue glanced back and saw the two talking to each other as they eyed her.
They’re on to me.

She walked around the rest of the park, keeping one eye over at the spa area, then headed back to the office. The night person was manning the desk.

“Eddie, I’ve got an emergency,” she said. “Got to leave for a while. Can you stay on late?” She watched him for reaction. He was in his late teens, lanky with dark hair and glasses.

“What’s late?” he asked.

“Late tomorrow,” Sue said. “You can sleep on the cot in the back after eleven tonight, but you’ll have to be up by 6:30 tomorrow morning.”

“For how much?” he asked.

“Double time, including the hours you sleep?” she asked.

“Make it triple and it’s a deal,” he said.

She thought about it for a moment. “Okay, deal. Thanks, Eddie.”

“Thank you,” he said, grinning.

Sue ran into her residence next to the office, threw some clothes and her toiletries into a bag, and trotted out to her car. Her heart was pounding as she turned the key. The engine turned over and stalled.
Shit.
She tried again, and the engine started. She drove to the gate, checking her rear view mirror as she went.
Was that Scott and Cindy walking towards the office?
She hit the gas a little too hard, her tires squealing as she shot onto the road.

***

Jerry was behind the wheel of the big diesel pusher, Jasmine asleep in the passenger seat. She woke with a start, looking around, disoriented.

“Hey, sleepy head,” Jerry said.

“Bad dreams,” Jasmine said. She picked up her phone and looked at the map app. “We’re almost there. Two more off-ramps.”

“Good,” Jerry said. “Don’t think I’ve ever pushed this rig so hard. Hope they’re ready to go when we get there.”

“It’ll take a while to get him out of there.”

“Why?” Jerry asked.

“You know how hospitals are. They’ll want to go through the usual steps to release Jeb,” Jasmine said. “You’ve been through that before, haven’t you?”

“Yeah, I guess,” Jerry said. “It’s almost light.”

“You tired?”

“Not as bad as I expected,” Jerry said, “but I’m glad you got a little shut-eye.”

“Me too,” she said. “Maybe you should lay off the coffee when we get there, so you can sleep after we leave.”

“I’ll try,” Jerry said. “When I smell it, I might not be able to resist.”

“There’s less traffic than I expected,” Jasmine said. “Look down there. The streets are dead.”

“I know, it’s pretty creepy,” Jerry said. “Hope everything is okay. When’s the last time you talked to your mom?”

“When we were leaving the park in Grand Junction.”

“That’s quite a while ago,” Jerry said, his heart beating harder.

“I know, but we’re almost there,” Jasmine said.

“There’s the off-ramp,” Jerry said. In a few minutes he was driving down to the surface streets of the little town.

“Something’s wrong,” Jasmine said. “Look at that smoke over there.”

“No,” Jerry said. “Look!” he pointed out the front windshield.

“That’s a Humvee,” she said. “On its side.”

“There’s bodies around it,” Jerry said. “How far to the hospital?”

“Not far,” she said. “Keep going on this road. Another two miles.”

“Where is everybody?”

“I don’t know,” Jasmine said, looking around, eyes glassy.

“I can see the hospital now. Look, there’s pockmarks on the side. It’s been attacked.”

“Another Humvee,” Jasmine said. “Looks like it was blown up.”

“Shit,” Jerry said. “Wonder if it’s safe to pull this thing into the hospital parking lot?”

“You want to park on a side street and walk in?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Jerry said. “You okay with that?”

“Yes,” she said. “Oh, my God, look at that!”

“Son of a bitch,” Jerry said. “Heads on spikes again. Dammit.”

“I can’t look,” Jasmine said. “What if it’s mom and Jeb?”

“I’ll look,” he said, turning down a side street just past the hospital. “I’ll park under those trees there. Get the guns out.”

Jasmine got out of her seat and went in back as Jerry parked.

“Where are all the townspeople?” Jerry asked. “There’s nobody around.”

“From what mom said, there weren’t many left when they got here,” Jasmine said, handing the AK-47 to Jerry. “Need to get more ammo out of the storage compartment. I only have about fifteen rounds for the M-16.”

“Okay,” Jerry said.

They got the ammo and headed down the side street, towards the back of the hospital.

“There’s not going to be anybody alive,” Jasmine said, her voice trembling.

They walked through the parking lot, littered with bodies and burned vehicles.

“Stay here while I go check those heads,” Jerry said.

Jasmine nodded, as Jerry trotted over to the grass mound in front of the parking lot.

He ran back over to her. “Nope, they aren’t there,” he said, putting his hand around her shoulder. “Looks like army men.”

“C’mon, let’s go inside,” she said.

“You know what room they were in?”

“Yeah, mom texted it to me. 316.”

They went into the lobby. The reception woman was lying face down over the counter, the back of her head blown off. Jasmine sucked in air as she saw it.

“Friggin animals,” Jerry said. They moved quickly towards the elevators, looking in every direction, gun barrels following their eyes.

“We aren’t taking that,” Jerry said, looking at the elevator doors. They were held open by several bodies. Looked like doctors and nurses, their scrubs bloody and torn.

“Stairs,” Jasmine said. “Down about twenty yards.”

They trotted to them. “Looks okay,” Jerry said as he opened the door. They took the three flights of stairs and looked out the small window in the door. The nurse’s station was down the hall to the left. There were two dead nurses there, by the walkway into the hall.

“Dammit,” Jerry said. “They killed everybody here.”

They found room 316 and rushed in. The bed was empty, EKG wires strewn over it. Rosie’s bag sat next to a chair in the corner.

“What’s that?” Jasmine asked, pointing to a piece of paper on the bed.

“It’s a note,” Jerry said, picking it up and reading it aloud.
“We’ll trade Jeb and Rosie for Frank Johnson, George Franklin, and General Hogan. Call this number. If you don’t agree, we’ll take all of you. See you soon. Signed Daan Mertins.”

“Oh, no,” Jasmine said, crying.
Jerry was looking around in all directions, expecting somebody to rush them. There was nobody around.

“I need to call Frank,” Jerry said. “But let’s get back on the road first.”

“Where will we go?”

“I don’t know,” Jerry said, his heart pounding in his chest. “They found out where Jeb was, and they know George and General Hogan are with the group. Now the cell tower near the RV Park is down, so they know where the rest of the group is. Why’d they bother with this?”

“Maybe it’s a trap,” Jasmine said, glancing around. She rushed to the window and looked for movement in the parking lot. Nothing.

“Let’s get out of here,” Jerry said, folding the note and putting it in his pocket.

Jasmine nodded, tears streaming down her cheeks. They ran out into the hallway and down the stairs, only slowing when they got into the parking lot.

“Stay sharp,” Jerry said, crouching, scanning the area, finger on the trigger. Jasmine followed, eyes darting around. When they got off the parking lot, they took off running again, down the side street to their rig. The area was still deserted. They unlocked the door in a panic.

“I’ll drive,” Jasmine said. “Where to?”

“Get on I-15 and head for I-70,” Jerry said. “Big roads only.”

Jasmine got into the driver’s seat and fired up the engine. “What if we run into another UN roadblock?” she asked as she pulled away from the curb.

“We’ll cross that bridge when we come to it.”

***

Frank and Jane were at the front of the caravan as the sun came up. They were still on I-70, making good time, almost to Denver. It had been a long night, and Frank was exhausted.

“We need to stop for gas,” Frank said. Jane had been dozing. She snapped awake and looked at him, disoriented and teary.

“Sorry,” she said.

“I’m glad you slept,” Frank said. “I’m about done. You’ll need to take over.”

“Did you say we need gas?” she asked.

“Yeah,” Frank said. “Could you call Clint and let him know?”

“Okay,” she said, picking up her phone. She hit the contact.

“Clint?”

“Hi, Jane,” he said. “Need to stop? Some of us need gas. I was just about to call.”

“Yeah,” Jane said. “Denver’s coming up. Maybe we can hit a truck stop on the way into town.”

“Suits me,” Clint said. “I’ll pass the word.”

“Okay, see you soon.” Jane put her phone in her lap for a minute. Lucy came over, looking up at her, tail wagging. “She needs to go out.”

“Find us a nice big truck stop, okay, sweetie?”

“On it,” Jane said, picking her phone back up. She searched for a moment. “Lakewood,” she said. “Get off there. There’s a huge truck stop right off the interstate.”

“Good,” Frank said. “How many miles?”

“Just under ten,” she said, putting her phone down.

They rode along silently for a few minutes, the traffic building up as they approached the Denver suburbs.

“Rush hour,” Jane said.

“Yeah,” Frank said, looking weary. His phone rang. He pulled it out of his pocket. “It’s Jerry.”

“Frank!”

“Jerry, you all right? You sound out of breath.”

“The hospital was hit,” he said. Frank’s eyes narrowed. Jane saw it and locked eyes with him.

“Jeb and Rosie?” Frank asked.

“They were both gone, but there was a note on Jeb’s bed.”

“What did it say?” Frank asked.

“It was from Daan Mertins. He said they have Jeb and Rosie, and want to trade them for you, George, and General Hogan.”

“Shit,” Frank said, heart pounding. “Any contact info?”

“Yeah, a phone number,” Jerry said.

“You guys still there?”

“No, we took off,” Jerry said. “The hospital was hit by Islamists. There were heads on spikes again, and dead people all over the place. Inside the hospital and surrounding it. We didn’t see anybody alive there.”

“Dammit,” Frank said. His phone beeped.

“Call coming in?” Jerry asked.

“Yeah, Sam Hinton. I’ll conference him in.” Frank struggled with his phone while trying to drive, but got the conference call up.

“Frank?” Sam asked.

“Yeah,” he said. “Jerry, still on?”

“I’m here,” Jerry said.

“Okay, Sam, you’re conferenced in. Hear something?”

“The radio in the Humvee worked,” Sam said. “I’ve got General Hogan patched in. General?”

“Frank,” General Hogan said. “You guys okay?”

“We’re rushing back to you,” Frank said. “What happened?”

“Somebody took out the cell tower,” he said. “We’ve been on lockdown ever since, but nobody’s hit us yet.”

“Thank God for that,” Frank said. “We’ve got real big problems.”

“I figured,” General Hogan said. “Sam filled me in on the problems with the UN in Grand Junction.”

“They hit us on the road, too,” Frank said.

“You made it, though,” General Hogan said.

“Yeah, thanks to Clint and his group. We’re all on our way there.”

“Good, we could use the additional fire power,” General Hogan said.

“We’ve got another big problem,” Frank said. “Tell them, Jerry.”

“General, the hospital got hit,” Jerry said. “Jasmine and I were just there to pick up Jeb and Rosie.”