Richard Stephenson - Collapse

Chief Maxwell Harris was driving his SUV north along Interstate 25 headed towards Albuquerque. Dr. Diana Stone was in the seat next to him staring out the window in a daze, thinking about her adult children and grandchildren. Elizabeth was in the backseat of the SUV holding the toddler they’d been forced to adopt after the death of the little boy’s parents. They didn’t have a car seat for the little one, so Elizabeth simply hugged him tight and put her seatbelt over both of them. Driving north toward Dallas was out of the question. Max had little confidence they could even make it north of Houston, so he didn’t even attempt it. Heading west away from the aftermath of Hurricane Maxine was their best bet.

“Sweetie, what’s your name? A sweet boy like you must have a really nice name. What is it?” asked Elizabeth.

The little boy just smiled up at Elizabeth’s angelic face. “Baby, if you don’t tell me your name, I’m gonna have to give you one. Let’s see. What’s a good name for you? Puppy dog?” The little boy giggled. “Kitty cat?” More giggles. “Teddy bear?” Even more giggles. “C’mon sweetie! I bet you got all kinds of things to say.”

Dr. Stone turned to Max and spoke for the first time in over an hour. “How are we on gas?”

Max checked the gauge and replied, “Quarter tank. Looking for a good spot to pull over and fill up.”

On their way out of town, they had stopped at the city garage and topped off the gas tank. They also acquired thirteen five-gallon gas cans and filled those as well. The back of the SUV was loaded down with sixty-five gallons of gas. The Ford Escape they were driving was a hybrid and got about forty miles to the gallon. Max decided to be liberal with that figure and made it thirty-five. With a fifteen-gallon tank they could travel five hundred and twenty five miles. Max again decided to err on the side of caution and rounded down to five hundred. With the gas they were carrying, they could fill the tank four times. Starting with a full tank and refilling four times meant they could make it about two and a half thousand miles before they needed gas. Max had no intention of waiting till the SUV was stuck on empty before filling up.

The back seat next to Elizabeth was loaded down with bottled water and non-perishable food they brought with them from the command post. A duffle bag full on guns and ammo was beneath Elizabeth’s feet. They were ready for anything.

Max pulled out his 2027 version of Rand McNally’s Road Atlas and turned to the earmarked page that showed the map of New Mexico. Rand McNally was the only company that still sold a paper copy of a road atlas. Max made sure to get a new version every couple years. It just made sense to him to have a hard copy for a backup in an emergency. Max was puzzled that his smartphone didn’t have a signal. He’d thought that once they left the hurricane damage zone he would be able to get a signal on his phone. He’d been checking his phone every thirty minutes with no luck. He cursed himself for not having an offline GPS app on his smartphone. His fancy GPS app had a lot of bells and whistles but needed an internet connection to function. If he’d kept it simple and just stuck with a bare-bones GPS app, he’d be using it right now.

Elizabeth was stroking the toddler’s hair while he slept. Speaking in hushed tones to keep from disturbing him she asked, “Max, honey, when are we going to stop? I’m getting hungry and want to stretch my legs.”

“The next town is Truth or Consequences. I’ll try to find a place to stop.”

“Seriously? That’s the name of the town?”

“Yep, that’s the name.”

“Bizarre name for a town,” said Elizabeth.

Max dug into his encyclopedic bank of knowledge and recalled the details. “It was originally named Hot Springs but some game show in the 1950’s said it would broadcast the show from the first town to rename itself ‘Truth or Consequences.’ Hot Springs was the first, and the name stuck.”

“I’m never playing Trivial Pursuit with you,” said Elizabeth.

“Good idea,” said Max. “Doc, how you holding up? You’re being very quiet.”

Dr. Stone replied while still looking out the window, “I’m fine. Just wondering if I’ll ever see my family again.”

Elizabeth reached forward and put her hand on Dr. Stone’s shoulder. “Oh honey, I’m sure you will. Where do they live?”

“My youngest daughter lives in Houston and my son lives south of Dallas. I have twin girls — one lives in Beaumont and the other in Oklahoma City.”

“Twins? That must’ve been fun. How old are they?”

“They turned thirty-eight last month. My son has the same birthday as they do. Three out of four of my kids have the same birthday,” smiled Dr. Stone.

“Wow! That’s so amazing! What are the odds of that? How many grandkids do you have?”

“Eight. Seven boys and one girl.” Dr. Stone began to cry. “They must be worried sick about me. That damn hurricane…”

“It’s gonna be okay, Diana. This little guy can use a Nana.” Elizabeth kissed the boy’s head. “Can’t you, sweetie?”

“Yes, that little angel has his Nana right here.” Dr. Stone smiled and wiped the tears from her face.

Max listened to the conversation and decided not to participate. He was not a subscriber to giving people false hope. Elizabeth was the most caring, uplifting person he’d ever met, and he decided to let her handle the situation like the pro she was. Max was firmly rooted in reality. The sad truth was Dr. Stone stood a very good chance of not seeing her family for a long, long time. He was not going to turn around and drive her back to Texas. Max hadn’t discussed future plans with Elizabeth or Diana. The one and only plan they had was to get out of Texas in one piece, and they had accomplished it.

“Diana, we’ve all been to hell and back and haven’t even thought about discussing the future. What is it you wanna do? I hate to think that we’re taking you further away from your family.”

“Well, the only thing I’m worried about right now is that I’m with people I can trust and I’m safe. I’m hoping we can get a signal on our smartphones sometime soon so I can start making calls. I’d have thought we could get a signal a long time ago.”

Max replied, “Me, too. Pretty safe bet that most of Texas doesn’t have electricity so I can understand not being able to make any calls. But all the way out here? It’s really strange.”

“Maybe your little game show town will have cell service,” said Elizabeth, “how much farther?”

“I saw a sign a little ways back that said fifteen miles. Should be there soon.”

A few minutes later they could see Truth or Consequences in the distance. The first exit into the city was Broadway Street. Max was about to take the exit when he noticed something wasn’t right and pulled over to the shoulder. Two cars were parked sideways across both lanes blocking traffic. A large plywood sign was propped up in front of them with the words STAY OUT spray-painted in black.

“What the hell?” wondered Max.

Elizabeth leaned forward and looked. “They can’t do that!”

Max sighed, “Well, they did.”

“What are you going to do?” asked Dr. Stone.

“Well, this is a police vehicle with two uniformed police officers inside. I think we’re going to find out what’s going on. Elizabeth, check the back and make sure the gas cans are still covered up with the tarp. Throw some blankets over the supplies in the seat next to you.” Elizabeth covered up the supplies that were worth their weight in gold. Max drove into the ditch, around the barricade, and back onto the feeder road. A few seconds later they took a sharp corner and came to Broadway Street.