Bobby Akart - Armageddon

“Where is the nearest pharmacy?” he finally asked.

Jackie pointed to their north, away from the mall. “Her meds are at the Safeway Pharmacy across the street from the apartments. She rides in her electric scooter, and the rest of us walk with her.”

Peter had noticed the mobility scooter outside the apartment. It had a heavy-duty chain wrapped around its seat support and a porch support post. Maybe the hospital was an option?

“Have you tried the scooter?”

“Battery’s dead,” replied Jackie. “I can’t even get the screen on the handlebars to light up.”

“Have you been over to the Safeway since, you know, everything happened?”

“It’s boarded up, and there were some guys watching over it. They said they were security, but I think they’re lyin’.”

“Is it in a shopping center or by itself?”

“Strip center. There’s a hair salon on both sides of it. Other stores, too. T-Mobile. TJ Maxx. Mattress store.”

Peter paced the floor for a moment, running his hands through his hair as he thought. This would be too difficult. He stopped and turned to Jackie. “What about CVS? Walgreens?”

Asia responded, “There’s a CVS about a mile from here on Fair Lake Parkway. It sits by itself next to the Sunoco.”

“It’s a new store,” offered Jackie.

“Shopping center?”

“Nope. By itself.”

Peter smiled. That meant he knew the floor plan.

Sunday, October 27

Placerville, California

Owen drove his family south along California State Route 49, backtracking along the Golden Chain Highway toward Placerville, which was located southeast of Auburn. Cars were stalled periodically along the way, but traffic would’ve been light at the time of the nuclear explosions near San Francisco. They reached the outskirts of Placerville right about the time the sun was rising over the mountains. Except there was a murky, gray smoke hanging over the valley like gauze wrapped over a wound. And the wound was oozing all around them.

“Look at all of these people wandering around, Dad,” said Tucker, who’d managed to arrange all the gear so he could sit on the edge of the back seat with his arms resting on the backs of the front bucket seats.

More deceased vehicles had filled the narrow two-lane highway as they entered town. Groups of people were huddled on the front lawn of the Calvary Faith Pentecostal Church as parishioners handed out boxes of food. Others stood in wonderment as the Bronco slowly drove past them. Thus far, the McDowells had not seen any sign of electricity much less another operating vehicle.

As Owen approached Highway 50, which they’d driven on just two days prior, his eyes searched out the Shell station where they’d last filled up the Expedition. Other than a few cars parked haphazardly in the parking lot, there was no sign of life. The Bronco’s fuel mileage wasn’t the best, and Owen had mentally calculated he could barely make the ninety-mile drive to South Lake Tahoe on a full tank. However, as he suspected, the gas stations were closed because it required electricity to pump gas, and the town of ten thousand didn’t have power. If the same was true as far east as Nevada, it would be a challenge to find gas.

They continued on their escape from the coming wildfires on the eastbound lanes of Highway 50. Full of stalled cars, Owen also had to drive slowly to avoid all the evacuees from the Bay Area who’d abandoned their vehicles and walked toward the east. Some climbed over the decorative fencing that separated the town’s business district from the once busy six-lane highway. Others stopped to follow the progress of the McDowells’ Bronco.

“I don’t like the way they look at us,” observed Lacey. “Some seem confused, but honestly, others look pissed.”

“I noticed that, too,” said Tucker. “A few of them actually turned and began jogging toward us. I think we need to get out of here.”

Owen eased the truck into the left-turn lane at the center of the highway. He nervously gripped the wheel and sped up until he was driving on the wrong side of the highway. There was only a fraction of the stalled cars in the westbound lane, so he was able to drive faster. Although he mentally prepared to avoid any oncoming vehicles, none ever materialized.

They were able to get out of Placerville without incident. However, seeing the hungry and desperate refugees was a wake-up call for them. Their tense silence eventually gave way to a conversation about the task at hand.

“We’ve gotta avoid the cities,” began Owen. “Heck, even the towns if possible. If this power outage is the same all over, there are gonna be people who will want our truck.”

“You’re right, Dad. We’ve got maps. We can even find state maps along the way.”

“I agree,” added Lacey. “We’re used to driving back roads on our trips anyway. We just need to plan ahead.”

“What about gas?” asked Tucker, who’d noticed his father glancing at the gauge often.

“At some point, we’re gonna need to keep an eye out for a place that might have a gas can.”

“Everything’s closed,” said Lacey.

Owen furrowed his brow and nervously fiddled with the gear shift knob. “I know. I’m talking about, um, on a farm or in someone’s garage or something.”

“Steal it?” asked Lacey.

“It won’t be of any use to them, honey,” said Owen matter-of-factly. “We’re also gonna need a siphon hose of some kind. If the gas pumps don’t work, then we’ll have to suck it out of other cars or even lawn equipment.”

“Do you know how to do that, Dad?”

“Um, well, no. We’ll have to figure it out. We’re kinda learning as we go, right?”

Tucker shrugged.

Lacey stared out the windows as they passed several farms. She wondered at what point they’d need to pull down a driveway and look for fuel. She was struck by the appearance of the sky. Naturally, she’d seen cloudy skies before, but this was different. It was if the sun wanted to fight through the smoky blanket thrown over them, but it couldn’t. Suddenly, a chill came over her body, and she unconsciously wrapped her arms around her midsection for protection.

“There’s another thing,” continued Owen. “We need to think about when it’s safe to drive. By that, I mean day or night.”

“Don’t you think most people will still sleep at night?” asked Tucker.

His dad nodded. “Yes. If we can make ourselves sleep during the day, I really do believe traveling at night will be a good idea.”

Lacey continued to look outside. Off in the distance, a man was slowly riding his horse from a barn to his house. He either wasn’t interested or hadn’t noticed them driving up the highway toward Nevada.

She decided to weigh in. “I don’t know, guys. We can’t control what people hear, but we can control what they see. Think about how dark it was in Auburn and on the highway to Placerville. Our headlights could’ve been seen for miles. In the daytime, unless they heard us coming, or happened to be close enough to see us like in town, we could travel undetected.”

Owen jutted his chin out and nodded. “The headlights are like a beacon.”

“Exactly,” said Lacey, who then explained her thought further. “Also, I hope nothing like this happens, but if somebody really wanted to take our truck, they could set up a roadblock if they saw us coming from a distance. That’s more likely to happen at night than during the day.”

“During the day, we can see them, too,” Tucker added.

Owen glanced over at the South Fork of the American River, a pristine blue stream that ran from the peaks of the Sierra Nevada Mountains until it found its way to the Sacramento River. He thought about the fact that all of their water had been stolen.