G Hopf - The Long Road

“Eric is sleeping. What is it?”

“I need to know if Eric saw Gordon return.”

“He’s not here?” Melissa asked, sticking her head out and looking around.

“Please wake him up,” Samantha begged.

Melissa could see the worry on Samantha’s face. “Sure, one second.”

Eric rose quickly and came to the door. “Melissa just told me that Gordon’s still not back. They didn’t come back on my watch.”

“Don’t you think that’s odd? Why didn’t you wake me or tell anyone?” Samantha snapped.

“No, I didn’t think anything of it, really. Gordon takes care of himself, and I thought they would be back anytime.”

Samantha then turned away quickly. Total fear gripped her as she realized that she hadn’t seen Hunter either.

Turning back around, she asked, “Did you see Hunter, have you seen him?”

Eric glanced at Melissa, then answered, “No, I haven’t seen him since yesterday.”

Samantha didn’t say another word to them. She jogged off quickly and went to each person in their group. She asked them all the same question. The responses were all the same. No one had seen him. She then began to scream for her son. “Hunter! Hunter!”

All in the group just stared at her. Nelson approached and said, “Samantha, we’ll find him. He probably just walked off to…”

“To what, Nelson? Look around. We’re in the fucking desert. Where is he?”

“We’re going to organize a quick search party, okay?” Nelson said in an attempt to reassure her.

She ignored him and took off running toward her trailer. She flung open the door and grabbed Haley. She took her to Melissa and Eric’s and dropped her off with instructions to watch over her. She then went back to her trailer and grabbed a backpack with some water. Just before she stepped out, she saw the Sig Sauer pistol that Gordon had given her weeks ago. She placed it in her waistband.

Nelson had put together a couple of people to help. They met her just outside her trailer.

Stepping down, she turned to Nelson and said, “Let’s go find my boy.”

Unknown military installation

Gordon’s body was racked with pain from his head to his legs. He was confused about how long he’d been out and even where he was. The only light he saw was coming from the cracks along one of the edges of the room. The odors of mold and dust were intense. Not being able to see, he stood up to walk the perimeter of the room. The first thing he noticed was that the walls were a corrugated metal; the second was that the room was long and narrow. When he reached the end where the light was peeking through, he knew. It wasn’t about where he was but about what he was in—a Conex box. He continued walking the narrow interior to locate anything or anyone that might be in there with him. Nothing.

His thoughts raced to the night before, the running, the fighting, Hunter. Where was Hunter? He vaguely remembered being hit, then tied up. The memory of the drive didn’t exist for him. The last thing he recalled was being placed in the bed of the truck with his son. He felt his wrists; the pain of the tight bands being tied around them was still present. He slowly walked back to the door and began to bang. The metal door gave a deep thud with each impact of his closed fist.

“Open the door!” he yelled. He repeated it over and over.

Finally after what must have been an hour he heard someone on the other side. The sound of a padlock being unlocked was followed by the heavy sound of the latch moving. Soon he’d be face-to-face with whoever took him and Hunter.

“Before we open up, step back! Don’t think about doing anything, you understand?” the voice yelled from the other side.

Gordon’s initial instinct was to fight, but not knowing where Hunter was, he had to snuff out his flame of resistance. He stepped away from the door. “I stepped back! I just want to speak to someone!”

The anticipation of seeing this person or people gripped him. He took a few more steps back. He didn’t know what would be coming in and what they meant to do to him.

A loud clang and bang preceded the door creaking open. The bright light from the outside flooded in, blinding him. Squinting, he tried to see, but his eyes were having a difficult time adjusting. All he could see were two shadowy figures. Feeling even more nervous, he moved back farther. The two figures stepped inside. Gordon’s heart raced. Again the instinct to fight was there, but he resisted it. He blinked rapidly until his eyes adjusted and both men came into focus. They were average height, had long hair, and their clothes were soiled. Gordon quickly noticed they were armed with pistols holstered in standard green military side holsters.

“Where am I?” Gordon asked.

“You’ll have all of your questions answered soon enough,” one of the men responded. They both approached Gordon, one holding some rope, the other what looked like a sack.

“What are you going to do?” Gordon asked, stepping back as far as he could. His back was now against the far wall.

“We’re not going to hurt you. We just need to take you with us,” one of the men said. Both had now stopped their advance and stood a few feet from Gordon.

“If you want your questions answered, you’ll need to come with us, and this is the only way,” the other man said, holding up the sack.

Gordon quickly analyzed the situation, sizing the men up. They were both lean and of average build. He had fought more than one man before and won, but these two had an advantage. He finally held up his hands. If he could get in front of whoever was in charge, maybe he could find Hunter and then find a way out of this situation.

Both men stepped forward, tied his hands behind his back, and covered his head with the sack. They turned him around and escorted him out of the Conex box.

Gordon felt the sun’s warmth the instant he exited. He could hear some people talking in the distance, but their words were unintelligible. The thick canvas sack made it impossible to get his bearings. He tried counting his steps, but he didn’t know if that would be of any benefit. Soon they came to a door, and he went through with his escorts. A couple of turns, one last door, and he was taken into a room. They pushed him down into a chair and forcibly removed the sack and tape. The smell in the air was sweet, like incense was burning somewhere. The room was devoid of anything distinguishable. It was small, just space enough for a table and four chairs. Nothing hung on the garish white walls, and there was no window.

He blinked repeatedly and saw a nicely dressed man across a table from him. The man appeared to be in his early fifties, with long black hair pulled back into a ponytail and a thin beard that covered his face. Gordon again looked at the men who had taken him there; they too had long hair.

“What’s up with the long hair?” he asked with a smirk.

The man who sat across from him started to tap his finger on the table.

“Where am I? Where’s my son? Why have you taken us?”

“Calm down. I’ll answer everything in due time. I have a few questions of my own,” the man said. His voice was soft with a slight eastern European accent.

“Where is my son?”

“Your boy is fine, no harm has come to him. He is being looked after.”

“Let me and my son go, please.”

Ignoring Gordon, the man began to talk. “My name is Rahab, and I want to share a story with you. I came to this country over twenty years ago from the Ukraine. A beautiful country, Ukraine, but nothing like the United States. I was amazed by everything I saw here. You have to remember that I was a child of the Soviet era. We didn’t have all the things you Americans take for granted. Just the stores alone were magical. The first time I walked into a Walmart I was in disbelief. I felt like I had died and gone to heaven. So much to buy, so many options, so many luxuries. Aah, I took it all in.