The group moved with practiced precision and soon, Arthur’s trailer was stacked front to back with storage bins and boxes. Then they started filling Shawn’s trailer as Shawn went to find Arthur. He found Arthur talking to Jim and Betty who were watching out the entrance door.
Walking past the registers, Shawn glanced over and saw Levi but couldn’t remember the other one’s name, but knew the face. “Knew you were trouble,” Shawn mumbled and walked behind the return desk.
“Poppa,” he called out over the desk. “Your trailer is full and mine shouldn’t be more than a quarter full when the rest is loaded.”
Patting Jim and Betty, Arthur turned and headed around the return desk and saw Shawn looking down at something. Climbing over the return desk, Arthur looked under the counter and found Shawn was staring at a safe. “Wonder what’s in it?” Shawn asked with a grin.
Pulling a flashlight from his belt, Arthur knelt down and shined the light at the safe and then stood up and walked from behind the service desk. “I’ll be back,” Arthur called over his shoulder and Shawn turned back, looking at the safe and then back across the store and saw Arthur heading for some tools.
Ducking into the tool area for a second, Arthur stepped back in the front cross aisle, heading back. When Arthur got closer, Shawn saw he was carrying something in each hand as the AR hung under his right arm.
Walking back in the return area, Shawn saw Arthur was carrying a ball-peen hammer and a huge metal punch. Kneeling down, Arthur put the tip of the punch at the two o’clock position on the combination dial and raised the hammer up, hitting the punch rod hard. A metal ring sounded out as the dial popped off the safe and skidded across the floor.
Putting the tip of the punch into the small hole left by the dial, Arthur aimed the punch to the right and hit it with the hammer one time very hard. Pulling the punch out, Arthur dropped the punch and the hammer before grabbing the handle and turned it.
Shawn jumped back when the handle turned and watched as Arthur opened the safe. “Just papers and a money bag,” Arthur answered, standing up and patting Shawn on the chest as he walked off.
With his mouth hanging open, Shawn watched Arthur walk off and then turned back to the open safe. “I think you were more than a little misguided in your youth to be able to do that, Poppa,” Shawn mumbled, snapping his mouth shut and walking out.
When the group left, there were two bodies hanging over the exit doors with a sign tied to their necks that read, ‘Don’t fuck with my kids or me’. It was signed, ‘The Caravan Man’.
Chapter Thirty Three
A mind can only take so much before breaking
Lifting the full gas can back into the trailer, Wendy wanted to kick herself for leaving that wagon. Hearing small grunts, Wendy turned to see the twins carrying over another gas can between them. Running over, Wendy grabbed it. “I was coming back,” she grinned as the twins let the can go.
“We still have two more,” Jo Ann panted, throwing her hands up. She turned around, looking at the soft gray clouds overhead. “Is it going to storm again?”
“No, these clouds aren’t dark enough,” Wendy answered, putting the gas can in the trailer and turned around to see Noah and Ryan still sleeping on the blanket spread out beside the Tahoe. “It’s going to rain, but not like last night.”
When she turned back around, Wendy saw the twins looking up at the sky and memorizing the details. “I can’t wait to tell Arthur that I’m not the only one terrified by storms,” Wendy mumbled. Walking past the twins and heading back to the carport beside the house, Wendy did feel bad about using so much gas because she had hauled serious ass.
She had planned on keeping forty-five miles an hour and traveling eight hours a day, like they’d done the first day. That way, they could average around three hundred and fifty miles a day. Last night, they made it all the way into Georgia and were now only ten miles from Alabama. Wendy had made four hundred and sixty miles in six hours.
Now outside the moment, Wendy knew that had been stupid as shit. But at the time, it’d seemed very rational. There were abandoned cars and wrecks scattered all along the back roads she was taking. They had passed interstates and those were ten times worse and on interstate highways, they had seen a few cars moving.
It was after almost plowing into two wrecked cars last night, that had made Wendy finally pull over. The only saving grace was she’d been doing forty-five like she had planned.
Reaching the carport, Wendy looked at the two gas cans and gave a sigh. Not even entertaining the idea of grabbing both, Wendy picked up one and headed back to the barn, almost running over the twins who were behind her. “Thank you, girls,” Wendy said, passing them.
After putting her gas can in the trailer, Wendy trotted back out and grabbed the last gas can from the twins who were halfway back. Even now, Wendy could tell she was still nowhere near her former strength and wouldn’t be for some time.
Putting the gas can in, Wendy stepped back panting as the twins came over and strapped the cans down. “Can you hide under a bridge if a tornado comes?” Sally asked, ratcheting the strap down.
Catching her breath, “You can, but it’s still dangerous because the debris can still get you and that’s what’s so deadly about tornados,” Wendy explained, trying to slow
