Nathan Jones - Fuel

At his capitulation his cousin nodded and actually managed a strained smile. “You’ve been having all the fun road trips lately. My turn to go on one with you.” He shrugged. “Either way we’ll need to wait until tonight to load things from the cache. I don’t want to do it with Ferris just on the other side of the hill.”

Trev nodded. “While we wait I’ll go say goodbye to Matt. Think it’s okay to let him know where we’re going?”

His cousin hesitated. “I’d say no, but if we can’t trust him we can’t trust anyone. It’s probably good to have at least one friend down here anyway. Go on, I’ll try to hide the cache better and keep watch over it. The mood I’m in I almost hope someone comes to steal it.”

The words were said half jokingly, but from the way Lewis glanced towards the home they’d just been kicked out of Trev wasn’t completely sure. He hoped for all their sakes that Ferris was too busy cataloguing his newest score to go poking around.

Trev left his weapons behind with Lewis and went straight south to avoid the shelter and prying FETF eyes, then headed east for town and made his way along the smaller streets. To his surprise he met Matt leaving the Larsons’ house with a plastic bag in one hand.

When his friend saw him coming he immediately made a beeline over. “Trev!” he said, clapping his shoulder. “I was just heading over to find you. I heard how my parents treated you and felt terrible about it, especially after everything you’ve done for us.”

It was a bit difficult to shrug that off after they’d taken Mandy’s side against him, but Trev managed to. “It’s fine.”

“From the sound of things it really wasn’t. They’d had to put up with Mandy for almost two weeks listening to her slander you so they weren’t in the best of moods when you arrived.” Matt lifted the plastic bag. “Listen, me and April explained the trip and everything that happened and they wanted me to apologize to you on their behalf and thank you as well. We also wanted to give you these cans of bear spray. I realize it’s a pathetic gift compared to what you’ve done for us, but I felt like I had to give you something.”

Trev took the bag, trying to smile in spite of his foul mood. “Thanks, man, but you know I’d help you any time. I’m just glad we all made it safely.”

His friend’s smile faded. “Although things aren’t as good as they could be, are they? I heard about Ferris, and I know you and Lewis really need to worry about FETF poking their noses where they don’t belong since you’ve got your shelter and all the stuff you’ve prepa—”

“He’s already there,” Trev interrupted. “Kicked us out and stole everything.”

Matt flinched and slowly went white. “Holy cow, already? And they took everything? You had supplies to last you for years, and beds and a stove and bathroom and everything else. A perfect setup.”

Trev could only shrug, still too raw about it to say anything, but after an uncomfortable silence he cleared his throat. “Listen, I wanted to talk to you about the cache we left behind on the way down. I’d have a bad time trying to get it on my own, so if you and your family can think of a way to bring it back here you can have it all.”

Matt gaped. “Seriously? We can’t take that, especially not after you just lost so much.” But even as he said it he stared longingly north as if envisioning all the supplies they’d reburied. That food could make a huge difference for the Larsons this winter, which was why Trev had decided to give it to them if they could manage to get it.

“We’re not as bad off as you think even after losing our place,” Trev assured him. “We’ll be okay. And I wanted to do something to make it up to your family for putting up with Mandy for me. Not to mention being such good friends for as long as our families have known each other.”

“Thanks, man,” his friend said sincerely. “That could be the difference between life and death.”

Trev nodded, although he felt he had to give a word of caution. “It’s a lot of food, yeah, but between you, Sam, April and her family, and your parents that cache might run out quicker than you think. Even if you go to half rations this winter, which you’ll probably have to do.”

He glanced back towards the shelter, feeling his jaw tighten in spite of his efforts. “Word of advice, though. Keep it a secret from everyone, and when you do bring it down bury it where Ferris can’t find it and don’t take it out until you really need it. He’s taking the big stuff now and holding to his “regulation” about 2 weeks of food storage, but I’ve got a feeling in the future he’ll start robbing you guys of anything he can lay his hands on.”

“Right,” Matt said somewhat dazedly. Then he blinked and focused on Trev’s face. “Hold on a second, “you guys”? You’re talking like you’re leaving.”

Trev nodded and jerked his head towards the mountains to the west. “We are. Up to our old summer hideout.”

“Over the winter?” his friend demanded incredulously. “That’s crazy! You’ll be socked in under 10 feet of snow for nearly nine months!”

He smiled a slightly crooked smile. “And still somehow more hospitable than living under Ferris’s size 9 boot.”

Matt shook his head almost frantically. “Don’t go. You can stay with us in our house. You’ll be perfectly welcome.”

“Thanks, but your place is going to be crowded enough. Anyway me and Lewis are kind of looking forward to getting away from people.” He gripped his friend’s shoulder for a moment. “Don’t worry about us, we’ll find a way to survive. You and your family do the same.”

Matt reluctantly nodded and offered his hand, then on impulse pulled Trev into a crushing hug. “Thanks. For April and her family, for beating me around my hard head until I finally saw reason about coming home, and for all your help and advice. For everything.”

Trev hugged him back, a bit embarrassed to realize tears were trying to sneak free. “Anytime, man. Stay safe.”

They separated, a bit awkwardly, and after a few final farewells Trev turned and started back for the woodpile. He’d been looking forward to his first good night’s sleep in a long time in his own bed inside the shelter, but now it looked as if he might be staying up late tonight.

He was beyond exhausted, his body screaming for rest after traveling so far almost nonstop all this time, miles and miles every day. But it looked like his journey was far from over.

Winter up in Manti-La Sal National Forest. His journey was just beginning.

Ferris got what seemed like half the town out to empty their shelter. From the sounds of it the people of Aspen Hill were celebrating as they made a human chain complete with carts, small wagons, and even a larger horse-drawn wagon to take everything back to the storehouse. From their behavior it was clear they considered Trev’s and Lewis’s devastating misfortune to be a bounty as great as the supply truck FETF had brought.

It was hard to listen to that from behind the woodpile without secretly thinking some very resentful thoughts about their neighbors.

The only saving grace of the town celebration was that by nightfall the shelter was completely empty of anything useful, even the solar panels stripped off and taken back to be installed where they could be put to better use. That meant nobody was around to witness as Trev and his cousin uncovered the cache enough to get at what they planned to take with them.

Between the two wagons they decided they could carry around 600lbs of food, mostly canned but with a base of 6 buckets, plus all their other necessities piled on top. That was more than 6 months of food for two people, which should be enough for them to eat fairly well all winter, even up at their hideout where winter lasted longer, provided they could do even a little hunting and foraging to supplement their diet.