Fuel (Best Laid Plans Book 1) (21 page)

A situation April and her family might already be in. Matt's sister was enough older than them that she'd barely acknowledged Trev's existence, aside from to come down on him and Matt and Lewis hard for any disturbance that pestered her. But at the same time he she was a good person, and he knew his friend loved her and absolutely adored his nephews. He'd even showed Trev pictures of them after visits.

“This is insane and it's going to end badly,” Trev warned. “Do you really want to go over a hundred miles to get there and the same distance back, about half of it through densely populated areas where who knows what kind of violence is happening, on the off chance your sister might still be at her house? We might pass right by her and never know, so she gets here safely with her family while we end up dead up north trying to save her.”

“We'll follow Highway 6 up to I-15 and take it the rest of the way to Midvale,” Matt said. “That's the only way they could go so if they're headed south we'll meet them.” His friend met his eyes miserably. “Please, Trev. I don't think I can do this alone.”

Trev looked away. “Fine. But I'll need you to find Mandy a bed and let Turner know we'll both be away so he'll need to replace us on our shifts. Pack up just what you need, food and water and a sleeping bag and warm clothes, along with your gun and as much ammo as you think you can carry over long distances. I'll go pack up and let Lewis know what I'm doing.”

His friend grabbed his hand and pumped it. “Thanks, man! Don't worry, after all the walking we've done on patrols this trip will be a snap. We'll be up and back with my family in no time.”

He somehow doubted that. They might be in decent shape but April and her family wouldn't be, and traveling with children was always difficult. “Head to my place when you're ready,” he said. “I'll be waiting.” As he turned and walked away he cursed himself for an idiot, but he really couldn't refuse his friend.

He was definitely going to strip his pack down to just the bare essentials for this trip. The only downside was that he'd probably have to bring food for more people in case Matt's family didn't have enough.

Chapter Ten

Human Tide

“Aspen Hill is a lovely town,” Mandy commented as they made their way to his house. “I'm glad FETF sent me to the evacuation shelter here.”

Matt gave the refugee an uncomfortable look. “FETF may have sent you, but we decided we're not taking anyone in.”

The sunburned blond's expression turned alarmed. “Trev promised me I could stay here, that he'd take care of me! Didn't he ask you to get your parents to let me stay at your place until he got back from helping you?”

What? Matt frowned, trying to remember what Trev had said. His friend had just wanted her to have a temporary place to sleep, hadn't he? Matt hadn't intended to offer Mandy a permanent bed in his parents' house. They were already struggling for food as it was.

But then again he'd done it for Sam, and Trev
was
risking himself going north with Matt to find April's family. If Trev had promised to take care of the woman and Matt was taking him away so he couldn't, didn't that mean it was up to him to sort it out? Although wasn't that more Lewis's responsibility as Trev's family?

“Yeah, I said I would,” he agreed reluctantly. “But I can't speak for my parents.” He'd have to see if they could talk to Lewis about getting some of Trev's food storage to feed her. That seemed reasonable at least.

She gave him a relieved look and took his arm. “Oh thank you! When Trev dumped me on you I thought he was trying to break his promise.”

That annoyed him. “Trev doesn't break his promises. He just agreed to walk into whatever's going on up in the cities to the north to help me, right?”

“Of course,” Mandy said, letting go of his arm. “I didn't mean it like that. I was just afraid he'd forget in the bustle of getting ready to go.”

“Sure,” Matt said, turning to look ahead. He saw Sam stopped dead in middle of the street, staring at him with wide eyes, and in alarm he immediately felt like he'd done something wrong. He hurried to meet up with her, waving.

“Who's this?” Sam asked. He'd expected her to sound suspicious but there was no trace of that in her words.

Matt hurriedly introduced the two women. “Trev promised her help, and I agreed to ask my parents to find her a bed since he's going with me up to Midvale and won't be here to take care of her.”

Sam's eyes had started to soften at that, but as he finished she stiffened. “Wait, what?”

“We're going up to find April's family,” Matt said firmly. “I have to make sure they all get down here safely.”

The dark-haired woman's eyes flashed angrily. “Are you insane? You saw what we escaped from and you want to go back into that?” Before Matt could answer she abruptly calmed herself, looking a bit embarrassed. “Sorry, I was just surprised. If we're going we're going.”

Now it was Matt's turn to stiffen. “Wait, what? I can't take you with me.”

“You're not taking me with you, I'm
going
with you,” she corrected, although for the life of him Matt couldn't see the distinction. “I want to help.”

Matt turned and gave Mandy a helpless look. “You just came down, can you tell her what she'd be getting into?”

“Oh believe me, I can,” the blond woman assured him. She stepped over to Sam and leaned close, whispering in the younger woman's ear for quite a while. At first Sam looked merely attentive, but after a while her eyes widened in horror and she visibly paled, then abruptly threw her arms around Mandy and hugged her tight in sympathy.

Matt looked between them, somehow thinking he didn't want to know what the refugee had said. “I'm sorry, Sam. I don't want to leave you but at least I know you'll be safe here.”

The dark-haired woman gave him a sad look, then gently turned Mandy towards the house. “Come on, let's get you washed up and in clean clothes. It's just cold water I'm afraid, but we've got soap and shampoo.”

Mandy laughed. “With these sunburns hot water would be a nightmare anyway. Thanks.”

Matt caught up to the two women as they made their way to his house, opening the door for them and explaining the situation to his mom as Sam led the refugee upstairs to the bathroom. It wasn't ideal, having it there with no flowing water or power, but since it was the only bathroom in the house they didn't have much choice but to haul water up the stairs for the toilet and for washing.

He just hoped the sewage didn't back up. He had no idea what caused it or how likely it was, but if it happened that would be a nightmare. They'd have to plug the toilet and dig an outhouse or something. Although he seemed to recall his dad mentioning that the topic had been brought up in the meeting and residents were being encouraged to dig outhouses even before the sewer system failed. It made him feel bad about leaving, thinking of all the stuff his parents and Sam would need his help with.

His mom greeted the news of a new guest with equanimity, although she definitely agreed about getting some of Trev's food from Lewis. “I'm happy to help a friend, and if he's going with you we do owe him, but we just don't have the food to take anyone else in. It would be impossible.”

“Did Trev really agree to take care of her?” Sam whispered, coming into the kitchen. “I mean Mandy seems nice and it's a nice thing to do, but she's a complete stranger. Also isn't he the one who made a big deal about keeping refugees out?”

Matt could only shrug. The decision really didn't make much sense to him, but he had to trust that his friend wasn't being irrational. “How is she?”

“Fine I think. I loaned her some more sensible clothes and showed her the system we're using to wash up.” Sam glanced back at the stairs, frowning. “Poor woman. She's had a pretty terrible time.”

“Hopefully that's all behind her.” Matt turned back to his mom. “I'm sorry to leave you to find a way to handle her but I don't want to waste a minute. The sooner I can get April's family back here the better off they'll be.”

“I know, and I agree,” his mom said, coming over to give him a hug. “We'll make do, right Sam?”

“I still think I should go with you,” Sam insisted stubbornly.

Matt didn't know whether to be pleased or annoyed that she wanted to stay with him even after he'd already told her no. “It's going to be dangerous up there. I don't feel comfortable putting anyone but myself at risk.”

“You asked your friend to go,” she pointed out.

He hesitated, trying to think of a way to respond without insulting her. He was pretty sure she
could
handle herself, but he didn't want her to be put in a situation where she had to. “Trev has already been in a fight. Some guy tried to rob him at gunpoint just outside his dorm room.” He patted the 9mm at his hip. “This is the would-be robber's gun, if that tells you anything.”

She opened her mouth, still stubborn, and Matt quickly cut her off. “Besides, I'd feel a lot better about things if you were here to help my parents. Things are going to be tough and they might not be able to handle it alone. Right, Mom?”

“Of course, dear,” his mom said, hugging Sam. “I couldn't sleep at night knowing I let you go into that. I'll be worried enough about Matt, but it's our family and our problem and it has to be done.”

Matt glanced sidelong at the stairs where the refugee had disappeared. “Also I'd really appreciate it if you could help make our guest feel welcome.”

After a few stormy seconds of silence Sam finally relented. “Fine, but be careful.” She stepped closer and punched his arm. “You're my traveling buddy, remember?”

Although her tone was flippant her expression hinted at something far more serious. Or at least he liked to believe it did. Matt felt his face flushing and suddenly felt really awkward. “I will,” he promised. “And you be careful too. Things might get unfriendly around here if the refugees decide they want to enter town after all.”

Before she could answer a creak on the stairs turned them both around to see Mandy descending wearing some of Sam's borrowed clothes, which looked too small for her. The blond woman seemed much more revived after washing up, even if it was just with a clean cloth and soap in cold water, although the skin on her face, arms, and legs was terribly sunburned. At the sight of her Sam immediately hurried to get her a cup of water, which she gratefully accepted and gulped down in several long swallows.

“My parents are happy to let you stay until me and Trev get back,” Matt offered the refugee. “You can use my room for now.”

To his surprise Sam hurriedly spoke up. “I think it would be better if I moved into your room so she can have the guest room. She'll be more comfortable there.”

Matt wasn't sure how to interpret that. He was also a bit embarrassed at the thought of her being in his room, although of course she'd seen it before. It wasn't exactly an embarrassing relic from his days as a kid, but he did have a lot of paraphernalia from his time on the high school basketball team hanging on the walls, as well as a few posters of his favorite players and one or two bands. And he'd also collected a lot of cheap used CDs growing up as MP3 players took over in popularity.

What if she found time to search through them and didn't like his taste in music? Of course, considering the fact that the power was probably out for good he doubted she'd get a chance to hear any of it.

His mom gave the two of them an amused look. “That's very generous.” She went over and put an arm around Mandy's shoulders, careful of the sunburn. “Come on, dear, let's get you settled in.”

Matt glanced awkwardly at Sam. “I need to get packed up.”

To his relief she beamed at him, seemingly back to her old self now that things had been settled. “I'll help.”

* * * * *

“You're out of your mind.”

Trev gave his cousin an irritated look as he continued emptying the pockets on his backpack. “It's his family, man, and the guy's so clueless he walked right into a riot. I have to help him.”

“You're not much better off than him,” Lewis insisted, moving around to get in front of him. “This is crazy. We could at least try to get my fuel working in a car, or maybe try to find a vehicle that can run on it.”

“You've been trying that for days,” Trev argued. “All you've managed to do is gum up your truck's fuel injector, and Mr. Tillman's ATV didn't even splutter when we tried it in there.”

“So find a way to trade some gas.” His cousin grabbed his arm as he reached for some clean clothes. “You do
not
want to walk into the mess up there. Besides, how will you get them down?”

Trev shook his head. “There's no gas left in town. Running the fridges took a lot, and so did everything the town used the first week. What little remains is being used to charge batteries for radios and flashlights.”

Lewis sighed. “Think about this carefully. Here you have a home, a community, and everything you need to survive. If you leave here you become just another refugee, and refugees are the first to die when the Schumer hits the fan. You do
not
want to become one.”

“We'll have enough food to get there and back easy,” Trev promised. “And I'll make sure to avoid other people. We'll be in and out without talking to anyone.” He carefully set aside his Mini-14, ammo, and all the gear for it to stay behind. Taking two guns plus ammo for both of them was excessive, and anyway he didn't want to be shot on sight for openly carrying a tactical rifle. It may turn out to be a bad decision, but he'd prefer to trust his .45 in its underarm holster. And over long distances losing the weight would make a huge difference.

His cousin ran his hand over the rifle's stock. “Maybe I should go with you if you really plan to go.”

“You've got to watch the shelter,” Trev argued. “Besides, I can't ask you to do that. Especially not after you just got finished telling me what an idiot
I
am for going.”

“He's my friend too.” Lewis sighed again. “Although we do need to make sure you have a place to come home to and you're right that I don't really want to go. This is a bad idea, Trev.”

“I know.” Trev straightened and gave his cousin a solemn look. “Matt needs me and I said I'd do it.”

There was a long, uncomfortable pause as they stood staring at each other. “I'd better get you some protein powder to take with you, then.” His cousin turned and started for the back of the shelter. “And some flashlights.”

By the time Matt came around they had Trev's pack loaded. It felt full with the sleeping bag, pad, and tent, but when he put it on it was half the weight of when he'd first brought it down. Courtesy of taking just the bare essentials. Lewis checked their friend's pack and made him leave behind a few things, then gifted him with some protein powder as well.

After a few brief goodbyes Trev and his friend were on the dirt road leading away from the shelter, headed for Highway 6. At first Trev argued that they should head north and a bit east cross-country until they reached Helper, at which point the terrain got rough enough that it was better to just follow Highway 6 the rest of the way to Spanish Fork even if there was more risk of running into refugees and any trouble they might cause. He even pulled out the small map of Utah Lewis had given him so he could trace the route with his finger.

Matt immediately shook his head at the suggestion, insisting that he had to stay along Highway 6 and then I-15 the entire way because he
wanted
to run into refugees, if not to ask them about news up north then at least to check each group for his family.