Bug Out! Part 5: RV Flight from Terror (8 page)

“Yeah, I agree with that,” Frank said.

“Maybe we ought to let Charlie lead us in there, then,” Jeb said.

“Be glad to,” Charlie said.

“Okay, let’s spread the word to the rest of the group,” Frank said.

The men looked at each other and nodded. Jasmine walked over with Hilda and Jane. Lucy bounded along behind Jane, enjoying the fresh air and the space.

“What’s up, boys?” Hilda asked

“Charlie suggested that we stop at a place he knows about in Green River.”

“Oh, that’s a great idea,” Hilda said. “That’s Kurt’s place. We go way back.”

Jane looked at Frank.

“Safe?” she asked.

“Sounds like it, sweetie.”

“Good, it’s been a long day,” Jane said. “I saw that town on the map. It’s up where Route 24 hits I-70.”

“Yeah, that’s right,” Charlie said. “We’ve got to go that way to get to Colorado anyway.”

“How much further is it?” Jasmine asked.

“It’s about two hours away,” Charlie said. “Maybe less if we haul ass.”

“Well, then I say we get back on the road,” Jeb said. “We’re burning daylight.”

“My rig ought to be full by now,” Charlie said. “I’ll go get her ready to lead.”

The rest of the group had gathered by now, and were listening. Frank noticed, and turned towards them.

“Everybody, we are going to spend the night in Green River. It’s a couple of hour’s away, right up by I-70.”

“We’re with you,” said one man. The others murmured and nodded.

“Everybody fueled up that needs to be?” asked Jeb.

There were people nodding and saying yes.

“Good, then let’s blow this joint,” Jeb said.

They dispersed to their rigs. Soon they were back on route 24, following Charlie.

Jane was in the driver’s seat now.

“It always takes me a few minutes to get used to driving this monster,” she said. “But then it’s almost relaxing.”

“Well, you remember that line from the movie “Speed” – ‘It’s like driving a really big Pinto’.”

“That’s one way to put it,” Jane said, cracking up.

Frank’s phone rang. He pulled it out and looked at the screen.

“It’s Jerry,” Frank said. He answered it.

“Jerry, hear anything?”

“No, still can’t raise them.”

“Shoot.”

“I’ve tried a lot of times now, though. Nothing.”

Frank’s phone buzzed.

“Another call coming in, Jerry. It’s the Sheriff.”

“Good, take it. Call me back.” He hung up.

“Sheriff?”

“Yeah, Frank. I’ve got Earl and Jackson. They’re a little messed up.”

“What happened?”

“Earl’s coach was sitting on its side. The tires and most of one side were all shot up. There were three other vehicles crashed nearby. Dead Islamists.”

“Do Earl and Jackson need medical attention?”

“Probably. They’re both conscious. I think Earl has a concussion. Jackson’s got a pretty big gash on his right calf, but he can walk. He really needs stitches, but at least I was able to clean out the wound and bandage it up with my first aid kit.”

“Salvage anything from their rig?”

“Guns and ammo, grenades, clothes, some food, other odds and ends,” the Sheriff said. My nephew was a big help. I don’t think I could have climbed in and out of that thing.”

“Good. I’m so glad they survived.”

“Where you guys going?”

“We’re going to stop at an RV Park in Green River for the night. Charlie and Hilda know the owner.”

“Good. I know that place. I’m about three hours away.”

“Take care of yourself. Sounds like the road down there’s pretty dangerous.”

“I’ve got Terry in the back, watching out the rear window with one of the M-16s and some grenades. If anybody follows us, they’re going to have a real bad day.”

“I’d put Jackson in front with a gun too.”

“Good idea. I’ll talk to you later, Frank.”

“Thanks for letting me know, Sheriff.”

“Don’t mention it. See you soon.”

Frank shut off the call and looked over at Jane.

“I got it, Frank. Thank God they’re okay. Call Jerry.”

Frank dialed Jerry’s number.

“Frank?”

“Yeah, what’s up?”

“The Sheriff has Earl and Jackson in his rig. They are both alive, but a little worse for wear.

“Uh oh. What happened?”

“They ran into some action on the road. They won, but their rig is laying on its side, and they both need a little medical attention.”

“Islamists?”

“Yep, there were a few dead cretons scattered around the scene. The Sheriff said there were three vehicles.”

“Scumbags,” Jerry said. “Thanks for letting me know.”

“I’m not driving right now, so I’ll call Charlie and Jeb.”

“Great, thanks.” Jerry got off the line.

Frank looked over at Jane. His eyes were starting to tear up.

“They’re alright, Frank,” Jane said. “That’s all that matters.”

Frank wiped his eyes and dialed Charlie, accounting the news.

“Shit,” Charlie said. “Kurt’s married to the town doctor…we can get them checked out when they get to camp, hopefully.”

“Excellent,” Frank said. “I’ll call Jeb.”

“You do that. I’ll talk to you later. Thanks for letting me know.”

“No problem,” Frank said. He looked over at Jane.

“Charlie says his friend at the Park in Green River is married to the town doctor.”

“Good, that’ll help.”

Frank dialed Jeb, repeating the news.

“Great,” Jeb said. “Glad the Sheriff found them. Same bunch of creeps hit them?”

“Yep, more of our friends.”

“Which flavor?”

“Islamists. Earl and Jackson won, but their coach is sitting on its side back there, and they’re a little messed up.”

“Well, hope they took some of them out.”

“They did,” Frank said. “Talk to you later.”

“Maybe you should try to doze off for a little while?” Jane said.

“No, I think I ought to keep an eye out. If Earl got hit, who’s to say we don’t run into somebody here.”

“Thanks for making me feel at ease,” Jane said.

“Just trying to use my head,” Frank said. “I’m more worried about the Sheriff. Hope none of the bad guys got away. They might be telling their friends to get on the road and do something.”

“You think that’s likely?” Jane asked.

“Maybe.”

They settled down into the drive, silent for close to an hour. Jane looked into the rear view mirrors often. Lucy got on Frank’s lap after a while and settled in. The sun was starting to get lower in the sky.

“Soft drink?” Frank asked.

“Yes, that sounds good, honey,” Jane said.

Frank got up. Lucy jumped to the floor and went into her bed. He got to the back, and heard Mr. Wonderful meow. “Don’t worry, old boy, it won’t be too much longer,” Frank said as he opened the fridge, pulling out a couple of soft drinks.

“Bring some apples up here, will you?” Jane asked.

“Sure,” Frank said. He opened one of the bins in the fridge and pulled two of them out. Then he closed the fridge doors and put the bungee cord back on. He walked up to the front and sat back down.

“Mr. Wonderful doing okay back there?” Jane asked.

Frank opened a soft drink and gave it to her.

“Well, he meowed at me. Sounded kind of like a protest. He doesn’t look happy.”

“He’ll live,” Jane said. She took a big drink of her soft drink, and put it in the drink holder. Frank handed her an apple. She smiled at him and took a bite.

“Think we should listen to the radio?” Frank asked.

“You can try to find something, but we’re pretty far away from the nearest town. I’d be surprised if you get much of anything.”

Frank leaned over to the radio and switched it on, then hit the seek button. Nothing but a real scratchy country western music station.

“So much for that,” Frank said. He turned off the radio.

“Why don’t you check the GPS on my phone and see how much farther we have to go?”

Frank picked it up off of the dash. “No dice, no bars. We really are in deadsville.”

“I think we’re in in Goblin Valley,” Jane said, snickering. “Reminds me of a Twilight Zone episode.”

Frank laughed. He opened his soft drink, and took a big gulp. Then he set it in the drink holder and took a bite out of his apple. “These apples are right on the verge,” he said.

“Yeah, that’s why I’ve been telling you to eat them for the last few days. They’re still alright, though.”

“Barely.” They were silent for another stretch, watching the scenery go by, and the shadows get longer.

“There’s a sign for I-70,” Frank said, pointing.

“We must be getting close, then. Look, Charlie’s got his turn signal on. Next off ramp.”

Charlie made the turn off of route 24, followed by Jerry. Jane followed them down. Frank moved around so he could see backwards from the passenger side mirror, and saw the line of coaches following.

“Good, here before dark,” Frank said. “Perfect.”

The RV Park was down the road about five miles, and off to the left about three blocks. The town was a little larger than Frank expected, but this park was definitely on the outskirts. Charlie got into the staging lane in front of the park and pulled all the way forward. There was only room for about five rigs, but the road leading up to the driveway was long and empty, so all of the coaches in the group could pull up and wait. Charlie and Hilda got out of their car and went into the office. Jerry and Jasmine followed them.

“Let’s go,” Frank said. Jane shut off the engine, and they both got out the door, pushing Lucy back before they shut it. They walked to the office and went in the door.

“Ah, here’s Frank and Jane,” Charlie said, smiling. “Folks, this is Kurt. His wife’s still at the clinic. She’ll be along in a while.”

Kurt was a trim, fit looking man in his late sixties, with hair dyed back to the blonde of his youth. It looked a little comical on top of his craggy face. He had a warm smile.

“What’s your wife’s name?” Jane asked.

“Mary,” Kurt said. “Nice to meet you folks. Any friend of Charlie and Hilda’s……and all that.”

“You guys have room for twenty five rigs?” Frank asked.

“Oh, yeah,” Kurt said. “This hasn’t exactly been a sell-out season.”

“Running into any trouble here yet?” Jerry asked.

“Not so far, thank God,” Kurt said. “We have a good Sheriff’s department. Lots of ex-military folks on the force…and of course we also have a well-armed group of citizens here.”

“This town looks bigger than I expected,” Frank said.

“It’s because of I-70,” Kurt said. “This is the last decent sized town before you get to Colorado. This place is a zoo during ski season.”

“I could image,” Jane said. “You really haven’t had any enemy fighters here?”

“Not so far. They might be a little nervous about coming here, because the Army is using this stretch of I-70 a lot. It’s really well guarded. The only down side is a lot of chopper traffic. Gets a little noisy sometimes.”

“Sounds like we might have found a place we can stay for a few days,” Jeb said as he walked in the door.”

“Jeb, is that really you?” Kurt said with a big grin.

“Yeah, how are you, old man? Been a lot of years.”

“I’ll say. How come you never get north anymore?”

“Oh, you know,” Jeb said. “Lazy, I guess. Getting old.”

“Wait a minute, you guys know each other too?” Jerry said, laughing.

“Charlie’s pop and my dad were friends. They both started their RV Parks at about the same time. They sent a lot of customers to each other, and shared a lot of knowhow and such. I used to play with Charlie when they would get together, and Jeb was with him pretty often.”

“That reminds me,” Charlie said. He had a somber look on his face. “We lost Chester a few days ago.”

“No!” Kurt said. “How?”

“He died in a fight. He saved us,” Jerry said.

“God, I’m so sorry to hear that,” Kurt said. “When I saw your group coming in, I was hoping he might be with you. Mary is going to be really upset about this.”

“There is other news too, on a little happier note,” Hilda said.

“What’s that?” Kurt asked.

“Charlie and I got hitched.”

“You’re kidding,” Kurt said. “You didn’t learn your lesson when you two dated all those years ago?”

“Guess we didn’t,” Charlie said, grinning.

“Well, I’m happy for both of you. Tell your party to go ahead in. They can get settled and come back tomorrow morning to settle up. You guys are welcome to stay as long as you like.”

“Thanks, Kurt,” Charlie said. They all went back outside. Most of the group was standing out of the covered porch next to the office.

“The owner said we can all go in and find a spot. We can come back and settle up in the morning.”

“Does it sound like its safe here?” one woman asked.

“So far,” Jerry said. “Lots of Army activity here, and lots of air patrols.”

Everybody got into their coaches, ready to stream into the park.

“Good,” Frank said.
“We have just enough light left to get setup.”

“Are you going to put out all of the slides and unhook the toad?” Jane asked. “Maybe we should stay ready to go, just in case.”

“I’ll just hook up the electrical. That only takes a second.”

“I like that idea, Frank.”

“Better safe than sorry,” Frank said. He climbed into the driver’s seat and started the engine back up. The gate opened, and Charlie drove through, followed by Jerry. Frank got behind them.

“Wonder if they have pull-through sites?” Jane asked.

“I’ll look for one. That way we won’t have to back up.”

“Good,” Jane said. Lucy looked up at Jane, wagging her tail. “Oh, all right, come on up.”

“Look,” Frank said, “that row that Charlie and Jerry are pulling into are all pull through.”

“Perfect.”

Frank turned onto the row, and slowly pulled into the site next to Jerry and Jasmine’s rig. He pulled forward enough for the toad to be out of the roadway, and then shut off the engine. Jeb pulled his rig into the next spot.

“I think we better get Lucy out,” Jane said.

“Yes, let’s do that, and then we can chat with our friends.”

“Are you going to level out?” Jane asked as she got up.