Steven Konkoly - The Perseid Collapse

“Everyone set?” he asked, glancing at the shadows in front of the closed bulkhead door.

“Lead the way, sir,” said Charlie.

Alex stepped out of the garage and into the deeper mud behind his house. “Let’s go.”

The steps were slow, each threatening to suck the shoes off his feet. He’d stuffed his only pair of hiking boots in his backpack, opting for the running shoes he kept in the mudroom closet. The rest of the family’s boots were underwater in a fifty-gallon storage bin somewhere in the basement. The added weight of his assault pack buried his shoes deeper, causing him to cautiously lift his feet out of the greedy muck.

Halfway across the yard, he saw the slow progress and had second thoughts about their plan to have Kate’s group haul the bicycles to the fire station. Everyone had given up trying to keep the bikes out of the mud. They would have to rethink this part of the plan.

Ed’s hitch-mounted bike rack could take four bicycles. They could throw two on top and try to carry the other three with their arms outside of the windows. It would be a complete clusterfuck, but they only needed to drive two minutes with all of the bicycles. The Jeep had an automatic transmission, so Ed could theoretically hold one of the bikes with his left arm. Alex knew that wasn’t going to work.

They’d have to make two trips, which was exactly what he wanted to avoid, but he didn’t see any way around it. There was no way this group would make it to the fire station pushing bicycles through the muck without thoroughly exhausting themselves in advance of a thirty-five-mile bike ride.

Kate’s group would hike to the fire station with their packs and wait for Ed to deliver the first load of bicycles. Alex and Charlie would guard the rest of the bikes and gear until Ed returned for the final load. Once everything was in place at the station, they could resume the original plan. He’d suggest that Kate’s group set out for the station before sunrise, with the hopes of keeping onlookers to a bare minimum. He stopped to let Charlie catch up.

“I think we’ll have to drive the bikes over to the station,” said Alex.

“That’ll mean two trips,” said Charlie, straining to talk.

“I’m pretty sure my marriage won’t last halfway to the fire station,” said Alex.

“Halfway?” Linda jeered. “I’ll file for divorce right now if this idiot doesn’t start agreeing with you.”

“Let’s go with two trips, my friend,” said Charlie.

“Better,” Linda said. “Now if you can convince him to drive everyone to the station, I’ll make it worth your while.”

“Tonight?” asked Charlie.

“Not tonight.”

“I’ve heard that before. I only take payment in advance these days,” said Charlie, laughing at his own joke.

“Mom? Dad?” said one of Charlie and Linda’s daughters from the darkness. “We’re, like, right here, in case you were wondering.”

“Your mom started it.”

“We might be able to move everyone in two trips,” said Alex. “Does Ed’s Jeep have running boards?”

“If it doesn’t, he’s a cheap bastard,” Charlie decided. “Why would you buy the four-door Jeep and not have running boards?”

“If he has running boards, we might be able to get six people out on each run. That would do it,” said Alex.

He wasn’t sure why he hadn’t thought of it earlier. The only problem would be jamming all of the packs and weapons into the Jeep’s tight interior space. They’d make it work, even if they had to tie stuff down on the hood.

Ten minutes later, Alex returned to the house to retrieve his own gear. He’d stashed his BOLT pack, tactical chest rig, and rifle in the garage. Unlike the watered-down version carried by Kate’s group, his BOLT pack contained most of the items on the original checklist, which translated into twice the weight. His final trip across the mud would be interesting. He stepped out of the garage and collided with someone. He cleared his pistol from the holster, stepping backward simultaneously.

“It’s me, Jamie. Christ, will you put that away?” she hissed.

Alex lowered the weapon, but didn’t holster it. “Are you out of your fucking mind?”

“Is it that bad out there? You don’t trust me enough to put away your gun, Alex?”

“I don’t trust anyone right now,” he said, glancing at the corner of the garage.

“Looks like you trust Ed and Charlie,” she remarked. “When are you heading out?”

Alex didn’t reply at first. He had really been hoping to slide out of the neighborhood without having to deal with this.

“We’re taking Ed’s Jeep down to Boston to get the kids. The rest of them are headed out on bicycles to my parents’ place. I don’t know what everyone will do after that. Hopefully this will all be resolved in a few weeks.”

“This won’t get better. We’re heading out tomorrow for Jeff’s family camp near Bridgton.”

Alex remained silent.

“I’m not asking for a ride. The minivan started. I just need to know when you’re heading out, so we can leave at the same time. We don’t want to drive out of here with the entire neighborhood on our heels,” she said.

“We were hoping to avoid the same thing. We’ll leave at first light,” said Alex.

“That’s what we were thinking,” said Jamie.

Something was off with this conversation. He couldn’t see more than the outline of her body against the side of the garage. He knew for a fact that she owned a compact 9mm Glock. He’d recommended the pistol to her when she’d come to him for self-defense advice after the pandemic. He closed the back door to the garage and walked slowly through the mud toward the Walkers’ house. Was he already this paranoid?

“Stay safe on the road, Jamie,” he advised. “Don’t stop for anything or anyone. Route 26 goes through some crowded areas.”

“We’ll be careful,” said Jamie.

Route 26 didn’t go anywhere near Bridgton. Jamie had either completely missed what he had said, or she was lying about the camp. He had to assume the latter and plan for the worst-case scenario. So much for a full night’s sleep.

Charlie immediately met him at the back door of the Walkers’ garage.

“Was that Jamie?”

“Yeah,” grumbled Alex.

“She’s out of her skull creeping around at night. What did she want?”

“Intel,” stated Alex.

Charlie looked at him pointedly. “Do we have a problem?”

“A big one. We all need to talk,” he said, stepping through the doorway.

Alex met Kate and Linda in the mudroom. They had just finished stacking the two families’ BOLT bags along one of the walls.

“Where are all of the kids?” asked Alex.

“We sent them upstairs,” Linda replied.

He dropped his own pack on the tile floor. “Let’s keep them up there.”

“We’ve got a place for the rifles in the family room,” said Linda.

“I think I’ll hold onto mine for now.”

“What’s wrong?” Kate asked.

Alex glanced at Linda. “Can you grab Ed and Samantha really quick?”

She stepped out and returned moments later with Ed and Samantha in the kitchen doorway.

“What’s up?” asked Ed.

“I just ran into Jamie,” said Alex.

“Great. Please tell me you didn’t invite them to your parents’ place,” Kate said snidely. “Her new husband is a little off.”

“You thought I was a little off before you got to know me,” said Charlie.

Linda didn’t hesitate. “I’ve known you for twenty-four years, and I think you’re way off.”

“She said something that didn’t make sense,” Alex said, trying to keep them focused. “Claims that their minivan started and that they’re headed out to Jeff’s family camp in Bridgton.”