G Hopf: Sanctuary

Each day on the road brought challenges, and Gordon saw she was capable of doing what was needed, when needed. He saw a glimpse of that resilience when she didn’t hesitate to kill the man threatening Tyler, and every day that resilience was proven. He was glad he trusted his instincts in allowing them to come along. Not only was she great with the basics of survival—turning scraps of food into edible meals, knowing how to shoot a gun—but Brittany had proven to be a great companion. She was smart and even-tempered, with a keen ability to look at a situation and quickly asset it. And most importantly, she was good at managing his sometimes erratic behavior.

“We need to find a place to camp out,” Gordon said flatly.

“I saw a sign about a mile back. There’s a rest area up ahead,” Brittany said.

“Rest area? Hmm,” Gordon answered. He kept his speed very slow as he considered the options. “Well, we have to get off the road. The thought of a rest area makes me uneasy, though.”

“We can’t sleep in the car again. Plus, there might be food there,” Brittany pointed out.

She was right. The past few nights had been spent in the small car. A night of sleeping stretched out could be beneficial, he thought.

Gordon looked in the rearview mirror and saw Tyler staring out the window, chewing on his fingernails. Tyler was a quiet boy who did what his mother told him without question. He was a little older than Hunter was, and even though Gordon tried to keep his distance, he found himself talking to Tyler like a father would to a son.

“Hey, buddy, if you’re hungry we got a granola bar you can have,” Gordon joked.

Tyler quickly pulled his hand away from his mouth and looked at Gordon’s eyes in the mirror. He gave a brief smile and shrugged.

“He’s nervous. He always does that when he’s nervous,” Brittany said, a bit defensively.

“It’s okay, I used to do it a lot when I was younger. Bad habit I had. Hey, Tyler, sorry, I wasn’t trying to embarrass you.” Before Tyler could respond, Brittany rapped her knuckles against the windows. “The exit’s right there! Do you see it?” she asked excitedly.

Gordon leaned closer to the windshield and squinted. Through the fast-beating blades, he could just barely make it out. He took his foot off the accelerator and slowed the car down to a crawl. As they made their way down the exit ramp, they noticed a large tractor trailer blocking the entrance to the buildings.

“You know how I feel about these types of situations,” Gordon said.

“I’m well aware. But have I been wrong so far on this trip?”

“Nope, no you haven’t. That’s why it’s worth a look.”

Brittany smiled.

Between the heavy snow and the tractor trailer, Gordon couldn’t see well enough to know if anyone was already shacked up in the buildings. He had only one way to determine it was safe. Pulling the car around, he parked with the front end facing the road, just in case they needed to make a quick exit.

“Brittany, I need you to take the wheel. Set your watch for fifteen minutes,” Gordon instructed her. “If I’m not…”

“I got it, I got it. If you’re not here, hit the road. Just go, go, go, it’s cold,” Brittany said, motioning for him to close the door.

Brittany scooted over behind the steering wheel. She pulled out a semiautomatic handgun and press-checked it just like Gordon had shown her. She re-holstered it and sat pensively.

“Mom, how long is it going to take to get to Idaho?”

She turned around and answered him. “As long as it takes, Ty.”

Gordon edged up to the front of the tractor trailer and peered around it. He could see three small buildings. The parking lot in front of it had a handful of cars, all later-model vehicles. He tried to scope out the buildings as best he could. No one in sight, no movement from anything.

With his Sig Sauer drawn, he ran toward the center building, which appeared to be a visitor’s center.

The only way into the building was through two glass doors. He could feel the ice-cold wall through his jacket as he pressed himself against it. It sent a chill up his spine and goose bumps rose across his skin. He leaned and looked inside. Nothing. He pushed open the door and slid in with his gun drawn. No flashlights washed over him and no shooting—a good first sign upon entering the building. With his pistol in his right hand and his flashlight in his left, he was able to get a sense of the room. It was empty, and from the look of it, no one had been inside it since the attacks. That was good news for them, especially when the light of his flashlight splashed across the two vending machines opposite him.

He marched over to them without hesitation. Inside, behind the thick glass on the snack machine, a bag of Doritos tempted him. He couldn’t wait to go back and tell them what he had found. He smiled when he thought that this stop was Brittany’s plan. She seemed to have an intuition about whether a place would be safe or not—and if it wasn’t, she knew how to react. An idea then came to mind. He holstered his pistol and pulled out his expandable ASP baton.

Brittany kept looking at her watch as it ticked down closer and closer to fifteen minutes. She knew what she had to do if time ran out, but the thought of leaving Gordon tore her up inside.

“Where is he, Mom?” Tyler asked nervously.

“He’s coming,” she said, again looking down at her watch.

Darkness was coming fast, with the snow falling heavier by the minute. Her visibility would be next to nothing if they had to flee.

“Come on, Gordon,” Brittany whispered to herself as she used her arm to wipe away condensation from the window. As it cleared up, she saw two headlights coming their way.

The headlights came from a 1990s-model Ford truck.

“Duck down!” she ordered Tyler.

As the truck neared, they both lowered themselves down out of sight of the windows. Brittany’s heart was pounding in her chest. Every vehicle or person posed an unknown threat. She closed her eyes and prayed it would just drive by.

The truck passed slowly. She breathed a tiny sigh of relief, then suddenly the truck turned, pulling alongside their car. Lying on her back facing the driver’s side window, she held the pistol out, ready to use it if necessary.

One truck door opened and closed, then a second.

She could hear what sounded like a man and a woman talking. One laughed, a deep throaty laugh, then all fell silent outside as they walked up to the car. Tyler’s rapid and heavy breathing was making it hard for her focus.

Suddenly she thought of the back doors. Her eyes widened when she turned and saw that Tyler’s door was unlocked.

“Ty, lock your door,” she said, just above a whisper.

“Mom, I can’t, I’m scared,” he whispered back.

She could hear ice crunching as one of the people walked up to the rear passenger side of the car. Knowing they were mere steps away, she sprang up and lunged to start the car. But before she could, Tyler’s door was ripped open.

“Look what we have here!” said a man, grabbing Tyler by the shoulders, trying to pull him out of the car.

“Get your hands off of him!” Brittany screamed. She turned with her pistol but she couldn’t get a clear shot, not with him holding Tyler against his body. Her car window suddenly exploded with a crack, glass pelting the side of her face. Stunned, she turned and came face to face with the barrel of a shotgun. On the other end of it was a woman. Her face was gaunt and filthy. Her long, oily hair dangled from below the dirty wool hat she wore. When she opened her mouth, she revealed stained teeth with pieces of food stuck in between.