“Can we have thirty minutes?”
“You can, but I think you’re going to freeze to death out there. The wind is blowing the ice and it feels like knives hitting the skin. Make sure none of your skin is exposed. This is much worse than it was back home. Remember, no exposed skin, and I’m not shutting the SUV off, I’ll keep it warm for you. I don’t want to stay here too long the tires will get flat spotted if we stay in one place too long, then they’ll really shake us up.”
Erin leaned over to Jon, “I hate to ask this, but bathroom?”
Jon laughed, “Look around, there’s nothing out there but snow and ice, just pick a snowbank and have at it…”
Ariden replied, “Daddy, that’s gross! Really where can we pee?”
“Honey, look around, we’re in the middle of nowhere, no homes, no stores, no rest stop, nothing. I’m sorry, but either go now or wait till we reach the border, I can’t tell you when it will be. It’s not that far, but as you’ve felt, the road isn’t really a road anymore. It could take us another half a day to reach the States.”
“I’ll run to the snowbank behind the car, but don’t look at me. It’s so cold, my pee is going to freeze before it comes out.”
Four awfully long hours later they pulled up to a concrete building with smoke coming out of its chimney. All of its windows were frosted or steamed over. No one could see who was inside. As soon as Jon crossed the border a man in a bright orange snow suit came out and held up his hand in front of Jon’s SUV. He pointed to a garage, Jon nodded and slowly drove into the large empty building. Another person motioned for them to stop and held up a sign in English and French telling them to exit their vehicle and walk to the front of it.
The figure in front of their SUV turned out to be a woman, “Welcome to the United States, we’re happy to see you. May name is Agent Dennis. Before we go any further, I need to ask you, are any of you carrying any weapons?”
Jon didn’t know if he should mention the rifles and 1911, he nodded, “We have a shotgun and a couple of rifles and an old 1911 sidearm in the car. None of us are carrying anything.”
“Thank you. We’ll check the serial numbers on your weapons, if they don’t show they’re stolen, they will be returned to you. Please follow me inside, we have a nice clean bathroom, hot coffee, chocolate, tea, and some wonderful chicken soup. I think you could use something hot in your stomachs. We have a little paperwork to complete and then we’ll help you on your way.”
Jon and Erin couldn’t believe their good fortunes, Trinity and Ariden were already running inside the building. Ariden yelled, “I claim the bathroom first!”
Agent Dennis laughed, “It’s a large lady’s room, there are stalls for both of you.” She then turned to Jon and Erin, “Please follow me, we’ll get you a hot beverage and get to the paperwork. I assume you have IDs?”
Erin smiled, “Yes, we have our national IDs and passports for each of us, and Jon and I have our licenses.”
Twenty minutes later, the four Coats enjoyed bowls of hot soup as Jon looked at the map Agent Dennis showed him on her tablet. She said, “As you can see, you can’t use the old Interstate 95 that ran along the coast. Most of the coast was washed away from the tidal waves which reached over four hundred feet high. We’re moving everyone to the states of California, Arizona, New Mexico, Texas, Oklahoma, Mississippi, Alabama, Tennessee, Florida, Georgia, and North and South Carolina. We’ve set aside part of southern Virginia. Most of the Canadians wanted to go to Florida, but I’m afraid it’s very crowded there now. You’re a little late arriving, most of the Canadians have already been resettled. Do you have family or friends already here?”
Erin and Jon shrugged their shoulders. Erin said, “Both of our parents passed, our friends had moved to Vancouver a few years ago. We think they moved to San Diego and we don’t have any idea where to resettle. Can you suggest something?”
Agent Dennis smiled, “I suggest you follow the route I’ve marked which will take you to Interstate 81. It will take you south to Interstate 40 which, if you go east, will take you to the Carolinas. There is a large Canadian group outside of Charlotte and another outside of Charlestown. There is another exceptionally large group of your people in the Smoky Mountains, outside of Knoxville. It’s a beautiful area and even sees some snow in the winter. If you like the four seasons, this might be a nice area for you. We converted over fifty motels and four hundred cabins into housing.”
Erin touched Jon’s shoulder, “That sounds very nice, we’ll take the Smoky Mountains.”
“Excellent. Let me get you your paperwork. You’ll need ration cards for food and fuel. I should warn you that if you use up your rations, you won’t be able to purchase fuel or food. Don’t leave your SUV idling, you can’t afford to burn an extra drop of fuel. With everyone moving, our supply of fuel is extremely limited. We’ve emptied our strategic reserves and we’ve already closed many of our wells in our northern states where the glaciers have already started to form. The Great Lakes are frozen over and so is two thirds of the Mississippi River. Now that you’re in the States, you are required to read and sign this form which says you’ve
