“We’re ready, you just give us the warning and we’ll grab their food and weapons.”
The leader of the group yelled back so even with the handheld radio he could be heard over the howling wind, “Remember who our contact is. Do not, repeat, do NOT harm him. We need him if we’re going to continue to score food and ammo.”
“I know, I memorized his name and face.”
“Don’t forget or I’ll feed you to the damn storm. I’ll leave your dumb ass naked so the animals can have a meal.”
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Thirty minutes after Gary in his Chevy 4X4 pickup and the Army’s Bradley left, the M1 modified tank’s turbine engine was started. It sounded like a jet airliner and it’s engine could be heard over the sound of the wind. The tank dropped its huge blade and recleared the lane on the roads they’d cleared hours before to reach the diner. The weight and power of the 70-ton tank easily cleared the ice and snow off the roads enabling the trucks and LAVs (Light Armored Vehicles) which used six wheels to follow the tank. The insulated trucks carrying the beer and food were in the middle of the convoy as was the Coats’ SUV. The four of them were amazed at how easy everything appeared to be once they started the trip across New York State towards the military’s Forward Operating Base. Erin looked at the convoy, “I knew the States had a large military, but this amazes me. All of this to keep a small diner open and to save the beer? Why?”
Jon smiled, “Given everything that’s happened, I think their commanding officer is very smart. He wanted his people to have a place to blow off a little steam. It must get very boring waiting for people like us to arrive and keeping their Interstate clear. I’m really glad we made it before they packed up and left. The sergeant told me we’re the first group they’ve seen in two weeks. They figured that anyone who still wanted to leave had already left.”
“Wait, what did he mean by anyone who wanted to leave had already left? Does that mean some of their people decided to remain behind? How could anyone live out there? Look at it, it looks like the pictures from the north pole.”
Trinity responded to her mother, “Mom, there are some indigenous people who live above the Arctic Circle. If they lived there back home, why would this be any different?”
“Honey, because the people who used to live around here had no experience living in the conditions our indigenous people did. I think the closest people in the States who did were their Eskimos and I’d heard that most of them left too. I don’t think that any of the poor souls who decided to remain behind are going to survive long. Even if they had some sort of food supply, how long could it last? Without the experience or knowledge of how to live in these conditions, I don’t see any surviving very long. We should have come earlier and any who are still here should have left too.”
“Mom, does that mean anyone left in Canada is going to die if they haven’t left? I still had some friends back home, I don’t want them to die.”
“I think we made a mistake in not leaving earlier and any who are still back home have made a very serious mistake. This isn’t a bad winter as many called it. This winter has been getting worse for a long time. We didn’t have any spring or summer for the last couple of years. Once the ground is completely covered by the snow and ice it will reflect the sunlight thus not allowing the light to be absorbed to melt anything. It will remain cold for an awfully long time.”
Six snowmobiles followed the convoy at a distance they thought kept them out of the convoy’s vision. Their riders were clothed in white, their snowmobiles had extra-large mufflers installed to keep them quiet and they were painted in a dull/matte white to blend in with the surrounding snow. Three of the riders had thermal imagers they’d purchased from the Army’s supply officer. They paid in gold and jewels the riders had stolen from the empty houses and stores. They’d stripped copper pipes which they’d melted into bricks. They also melted all of the gold jewelry into bars which were easy to trade to the Army for fuel, supplies, and items like their thermal sights. They already knew where the convoy was headed, and they knew where the supply officer usually arranged a truck breakdown where certain trucks were left behind for the riders to pick up. The riders made their payment to the supply officer a day later at the diner.
The riders watched and waited for the convoy to pass through a long tunnel where the last truck would be left for them. Only this time no trucks were left in the tunnel and there was an armed LAV and an older Humvee which followed the convoy. This surprised the riders since they’d never seen it before.
The leader of the riders watched and counted the trucks exiting the tunnel, he cursed under his breath, “We let their Bradley go on ahead with the asshole ex-sheriff. That son-bitch is armed with advanced anti-tank missiles and was up gunned with a 30mm auto cannon. I didn’t want to mess with that one. Now let’s go pay back the SOB who tried to screw us. We paid him three days ago because, for the first time he demanded to be paid in advance. He knew they were weren’t going to stop and he thought they could screw with us. Well, we’ll just have to show him he picked the
