Ariden who’d been sitting behind her mother said, “Look a snowmobile.”
Erin shook her head, “Jon, do you see it?”
“Yeah, make sure the guns are loaded, I don’t like that snowmobile just showing up like it did.”
A moment later two additional snowmobiles joined the one who was following their Denali. Jon told his family to get ready to shoot the attackers, when out of nowhere a large Chevy 4X4 pickup jumped over a snowbank and cut the snowmobiles off. A man wearing all black, boots, snow pants and ski jacket cut the wheel of his pickup, he ran into and over one of the snowmobiles and the second opened fire at the pickup. Two rounds hit the passenger side rear fender. The pickup stopped, the man stepped out, he raised a black rifle with a scope on it. He knelt in the snow and took aim, he held his breath a second and fired five quick shots, he hit the driver of the second snowmobile and struck the third vehicle knocking the driver off. The man laughed, he walked over to the downed driver and looked down at him. “That’s no way to treat visitors to our country. Shame on you. Your parents were pieces of crap and so are you.” Bam, he shot the driver between his eyes. Then he walked towards the Coats’ SUV.
“Hi, name’s Gary Stier. I’ve been after these POSs since I was a cop. They’re no good, never were. I sent their old man to prison for killing a neighbor, but his damn sons and cousin never forgave me. They’ve been killing and raping anyone they caught on the roads. I assume you’re heading south because you don’t like polar bears.”
Even though Jon had been told to stay in his SUV, he decided to get out. “Hello Gary, I’m Jon, that’s my wife Erin and our daughters Trinity, and Ariden. We kind of overstayed our time in Canada. We’re heading south. Thank you for helping us, why are you still here?”
Gary smiled and pulled an old Zippo lighter from his pocket and lit a cigar. Erin turned up her nose at the dense smoke. “My dog was sick, I didn’t want to leave him alone, so I waited until he passed and then I thought I’d make my way to New York and pick up 81 to travel south. I guess the same route as you. If you don’t mind how about we convoy together, the open roads are not safe anymore. Too many outlaws. Other than a few of the military, the outlaws are all that remain, and the military is pulling up stakes and leaving in a couple of weeks. You’re one of the last ones going to have a safe ride south.”
Trinity asked, “You call this safe?”
“Little girl, it could be a lot worse, a hell of a lot worse. If those Clayton boys would have caught you and had their way with you, you’d know what bad was. Now come along, follow me, I know a short cut to the army’s base. Please, you can trust me.”
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National Guard Colonel Michael Spivey checked his watch for the fifth time in an hour, “LT, what’s our status?”
“Colonel, same as it was the last four times you asked. We have five hours before we leave this God forsaken place behind and move to our next stop along the line where our orders say we’re to wait for a week before moving to the next stop. I’ve triple checked that all the fuel has been treated for the cold and we’re not leaving any behind. All of the vehicles have been greased with the new arctic oil and grease. Their heaters checked out as have their exhaust systems. None leak back into the interiors.”
“How’s the men and women?”
“Itching to get out of here. They’re placing bets on when the glaciers will arrive. There’s still time for you to get in on the pot.”
“How would it look when I won?”
“Who’s to say you’d win?”
“I’m the damn Colonel, if I say the glaciers arrived at a certain time, who’s going to argue with me?”
“Yes, sir.”
“Do me a favor and run one last patrol…”
“Still think you’re going to bag a polar bear before we leave?”
“I’m still hoping so. I carry hunting rounds in my rifle wherever I go. I got the damn honor of commanding this base because I was experienced with cold weather and winterizing weapons and equipment. I was happy in my retirement in Vegas. What happened? They recalled me and sent me to the edge of the frozen tundra.”
“Yes, sir.”
Chapter 8
The Denali and pickup pushed the snow away, they drove through four-foot-deep snowbanks and slid around curves. 4X4 and chains mattered very little in the unbelievably bad weather. The pickup led the way though empty streets and small towns. Jon held onto the steering wheel as it jumped in his hands. He told Erin, “I should have worn my gloves even in the car. The wheel is pulled so hard it’s going to blister my hands.”
“How much worse can it get?”
“Don’t ask. I really don’t want to know. I don’t think we could have made it if Gary hadn’t showed up. He saved our lives. If the roads are like this all the way to New York, I’m worried we’re not going to make it. We should have left when we first thought about it. I laughed at the news and their reports of how bad things were going to get. I put our family’s lives at risk, I’m sorry.”
“It wasn’t only your decision, I kept saying the skies would clear and the snow would stop. I kept thinking
