G Hopf - The End

Anza, CA (89 miles outside of San Diego)

As the sun began its decent on what had been a long day, Gordon was happy that he and his convoy of five vehicles had driven the distance they had. Taking the smaller state highways they had been able to avoid the congestion of abandoned vehicles and the droves of wandering people. He also had pushed his convoy as far east as he thought was safe, but now he was at a crossroads. He and Nelson had been discussing which way to go. Their convoy sat at the intersection of Highways 371 and 74. Right would lead them into Palm Desert and left would lead them into the mountains. The mountain pass was risky because they could find themselves snowed in. But the route into Palm Desert provided risks, too. It took them through a populated urban area, something he wanted to avoid. Nelson thought it best to go through Palm Desert, as he felt the chance of wintry weather could cost them a vehicle.

Gordon finally let his instincts reveal the direction and that was toward the desert. Nelson was happy with the decision and away they went down the long car-less highway. As they headed east, Gordon looked in the side mirror and saw the sun just above the mountains. He thought of his brother Sebastian; they had taken short trips to Palm Springs in the past. He hoped his brother was okay. He wondered if they had been victims of the same fate and were now stuck in Afghanistan. He wondered if he’d ever see his brother again. Just before he departed his house, he had left a note for Sebastian on his desk. He figured the odds of him finding it were slim, but if by chance he made it back to the States, Gordon knew Sebastian would go looking for him, and going to the house would be a good place to start.

Looking again in his side mirror, he noticed the sun had disappeared. It was now hidden by a dark set of clouds over the mountains. Gordon now felt good about his decision to head east, as the clouds to the west portended bad weather in the mountains.

“Look what I found in Jimmy’s stuff,” Nelson said, pulling out an old cassette player.

“Does it work?” Gordon asked. He looked amused at the sight of the old player.

“Shit, man, I never checked. I just grabbed it when I saw it. There was also a case with old cassettes,” Nelson said, picking out a cassette tape. He put it in the player and hit play. The player sprang to life with the soft, subtle strumming sounds of a banjo.

“What is this?” Gordon asked. At first he thought it was some type of bluegrass music, but there was something Irish in the sound.

“Flogging Molly is the name of the band. The song’s called, ‘The Sun Never Shines on Closed Doors.’ You want me to change it?”

“No, I kinda like it. It’s soothing and almost fitting for our journey,” Gordon said.

Both men sat and listened to the music, neither saying a word.

With the clouds to their backs and clear skies ahead, Gordon thought again of everything that had taken place over the past five weeks. In that short time, the city he called home had collapsed into chaos after suffering an attack that destroyed its power grid and made useless all electrical devices. Misery, suffering and death caused by starvation, disease, and murder had now become the norm for the survivors left in San Diego. For those able to leave, now was the time. For those who stayed, their lives or what days they had left would be marked by horrors not seen in centuries. Reflecting on all of this, Gordon drove into the darkness and the unknown with hopes that a brighter and more hopeful day existed at the end of the long road.

Olympia, Washington, Republic of Cascadia

“We have definitely covered a lot so far,” John said, looking at his pad. He had been taking diligent notes the entire time.

“I’d like to take a break, if you don’t mind?” Haley asked.

“Of course.”

“Can I get you and your people a cup of tea or coffee?” Haley asked as she stood up.

The two photographers declined her offer, but John asked for tea.

While Haley was preparing the tea in the kitchen, John walked around her house. He slowly took his time looking at the myriad of framed photographs she had hung along the wall in the hallway. As he examined each one to see if there was anyone of note in them, one caught his eye. It was a photo of Gordon dressed in an old camouflage uniform surrounded by others in similar dress. They were all holding up a worn “Doug” flag. The blue, white and green striped flag had the words, “1 stIdaho Infantry, Republic of Cascadia” hand sewn across the white field that stretched from one end to the other. The Douglas fir emblazoned in the center was faded and showed wear that can only come from war.

He pulled the photo off the wall and walked into the kitchen to get more information on it. The kitchen was empty. He walked into the adjacent room and there he found Haley holding what looked like a necklace.

His abrupt entry into the room startled her, causing her to drop the necklace.

John was curious about what she had, so he stepped forward and picked it up for her. He looked at it and saw that it was a silver compass attached to a silver chain.

“Here,” he said as he handed it to her.

“Thank you,” Haley responded. She took it quickly and placed it back in a small chest located on a bookshelf. She looked disturbed that John had touched it.

“May I ask what that was?” John asked.

“My brother gave it to me,” Haley said, not looking at him. She still had her hand on the chest.

“I didn’t know you had a brother until you mentioned him today,” John stated looking confused.

Ignoring John’s comment, she asked, “So what do you want to discuss in our next session?”

Taking note that she deliberately didn’t comment about her brother, he said, “I want to talk about your time in Idaho.”

Haley turned around and faced him.

“Our years in Idaho were some of the best I can remember. Even though the war started not long after the lights went out, I was inoculated from what was happening. We were safe in Idaho. Although the same cannot be said about the journey there, or as Daddy referred to it, ‘the long road.’ Something happened that changed us all.” Haley paused and looked back toward the necklace on the shelf. She reached over and touched it. She then looked back at John and said, “I would like to talk about that next.”

Copyright © 2013 G. Michael Hopf

No part of this book may be reproduced in any manner whatsoever without permission except in the case of brief quotations embodied in critical articles or reviews.

For information contact:

geoff@gmichaelhopf.com

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All rights reserved.

ISBN: 10:1478195487

ISBN-13: 978-1478195481