Half Past Midnight

She was silent for a few seconds. “How bad is it?”

“Judge for yourself.”

We topped the rise and looked down. She reached out and took my hand. “I don’t suppose any of them are still alive.”

“Doubtful.” There wasn’t much more to say. We were turning to go back to the van when she stopped and, with a puzzled expression, went back up to the crest. She studied the wreckage intently for a minute or more. “What do you suppose happened?”

“What do you mean?”

“What exactly do you think caused the wreck?”

I shrugged. “It looks to me as if the second van down there got rear-ended, and the gas tank blew.”

The van I pointed out lay on its side on the shoulder. One of the back doors rested on the grass, about thirty feet away. The other door was missing completely, along with most of the rear end of the van. It must have been one hell of an explosion.

“I guess the gas sprayed on the other cars, and the drivers panicked and wrecked into each other.” Even as I said it, though, something felt wrong. I was missing something.

Debra pointed it out. “If they were rear-ended hard enough to cause an explosion like that, shouldn’t the station wagon’s front end be smashed up, too? It was next in line. And what caused the truck in front to wreck?”

I didn’t like where this was leading. I didn’t like it at all.

Debra caught it, too. “Someone ambushed them.”

Quickly, we backed down the hill until we could no longer be seen from the other side. Both of us thought about the implications of the situation. Debra finally asked the question that was on both our minds. “So, now what?”

I thought for a second longer. “Well, we can’t very well turn back, and it would be another eighty miles to go around. We’re half an hour away from being home free, and we don’t know how long we have before things get really rough.”

She crossed her arms as if she were cold. “Looks like they already are.”

“You know what I mean.” We were both all too aware of the nuclear war in the offing.

“Yeah.”

I looked over at her. “We’ve got to go through.”

She stared back at me as if I’d lost my mind. “And I suppose whoever blew the hell out of those people down there is just going to smile and wave as we drive past? Get serious, Lee.”

“No,” I agreed. “It won’t be that easy. I’ll have to go down first and scout the area. Find out if it’s safe.”

“And if it isn’t?”

“Then I’ll come back very quietly and let you know.” I grinned in what I hoped was a reassuring manner. “I’m not about to take any chances, babe. First sign of trouble and I’m out of there.”

She jerked a thumb over her shoulder, indicating the other side of the hill. “Fine. But what if they have other ideas?”

I could see that her mood was rapidly deteriorating, and I was beginning to get a little exasperated myself. “Look, Debra, we don’t even know if there is anyone. I doubt there is, honestly.”

That wasn’t exactly true. I certainly hoped that whoever had massacred that convoy had had the good sense to move on immediately afterward. But they might just as easily have been lying in wait down there, hoping the wreckage would attract more victims as they came to help. I wasn’t about to mention this to my wife, however.

“Well, if you don’t think there’s anyone down there, let’s just take our chances and drive on through. We could probably make it through on the right shoulder without any problems.”

Uh, oh. “I just said I doubt that there’s anyone there. I can’t be sure until I go down and check it out.”

She mulled it over for a moment. “But you really don’t think there’s anyone there?”

Good. She was giving in. “No, I really don’t.”

Her smile was very nearly vicious. “Okay then, which side do you want?”

I gaped stupidly as the implications sank into my skull. “What do you mean?”

“Well, if there’s no danger, and this is just a precaution, then two of us should get it done twice as fast. And you did mention that time is of the essence.” Her smug grin was infuriating.

“Now wait a minute!” I nearly exploded. “I just said I didn’t think that there was anyone there. There’s no guarantee that I’m right. And if you think I’m going to let you risk yourself just because you happen to have a stubborn streak, you’re sadly mistaken.”

Well, that did it. Her grin disappeared, and genuine anger laced her voice. “And if you think I’m about to go sit in the van and twiddle my thumbs while you go play GI Joe, then you are sadly mistaken!”

Our voices had risen as we argued, and the kids looked up the hill. Struggling to stay calm, I asked in a low whisper, “What if I’m wrong, Debra? What if there’s trouble?”

“’Then I’ll come back very quietly and let you know.’ I think that was exactly how you put it, wasn’t it?”

“Oh, come on! Listen, I know how you feel, but be reasonable, for Christ’s sake!”

Major mistake. Her voice was suddenly icy cold. “Be reasonable?” she hissed. “I am being reasonable. You’re the one that thinks that just because you’re a man, you’re more qualified to walk in the woods. Well, you listen to me for a second, mister. I’m smaller than you, lighter than you, and can outrun you. And unless I miss my guess, your precious martial arts training doesn’t teach diddly about woodland stalking, so I’m just as well-trained at that as you are. So what do you have to say to that, Mr. Haiya-mama kung fu super shit?”

To say she was pissed off would be like comparing Krakatoa to a Roman candle. The thing that bothered me was that, when I really stopped to consider, she was correct on all counts. I was acting like a stereotypical insecure, macho male. I knew that on an intellectual level. But this was my family, damn it! I didn’t want to chance any of them getting hurt if I could possibly help it.

Logic and emotion battled. Logic presented a way out. “All right, what do you suggest?”

Surprise quickly replaced the anger in her eyes. “What?”

I shrugged. “You’re right. I’m being an idiot. So what do you suggest we do?”

Quickly recovering her composure, she replied, “Just what I said a minute ago. You take one side, and I’ll take the other. We’ll get done twice as fast and be on our way as quickly as possible.”

“All right.” I nodded amiably. “But what about the kids?”

She paused, appearing less certain. “They’ll stay in the van. You showed Megan how to use the rifle, so they should be just fine.”

“Fine. But what if something does happen to us? Not that anything will, but what if? Say that there is someone down there, and they kill us,” I said bluntly. “Or even if they just capture us and try to ransom us for the supplies in the van. Do you think Megan could handle a situation like that on her own?”

Debra was quiet, thinking. Finally, she shrugged. “Okay, you’re right. One of us needs to stay with the kids. But I still think that I should do the scouting. I’m smaller and quieter, so I have a better chance of getting in and out without being seen.”

“But if there’s trouble, I’m the one who’s trained to handle it,” I countered.

I pulled a quarter out of my pocket. “Flip you for it.”

Chapter 4

June 13 / 6:03 p.m.