Erin sadly watched as they drove past the empty houses of their friends and neighbors. Only a couple had any light inside of them, and then it was the flickering light of candles. A few of the houses’ roofs were collapsed from the heavy snow sitting on them. She sadly remembered all of the good times she had in their home, bringing her daughters home from the hospital, watching them grow up, their first day at school, and their first boyfriends.
She wondered what life was going to be like in refugee camps. She wondered if the news was right that the Americans were really going to welcome them with open arms or if they’d be the new minorities and thus held down in whatever new society was formed by the merging of the two country’s peoples. Erin watched the snow fall and she asked her two daughters, “Are you girls happy to be going on this trip?”
Trinity answered, “Will I ever see my boyfriend again? Will we be gone long? I’ll miss my friends and school. Mom, what about my science project?”
“Honey, do you remember when you were in the second grade and made up a story that you made a rifle and were an excellent shot?”
“I am an excellent shot and my science project was to show how to make a homemade rifle. I actually made one and was going to show how I made it and even show the drawings I wrote to make the rifle. The barrel was the hardest but after studying the problem I figured it out. I was going to show them that what I said was possible. I didn’t make my own ammo, that Dad bought for me…”
“Did you bring the rifle with you?”
“Of course, I did. I also brought my .22 and all the ammo I had for it. I also packed my chemicals in case I have to make gunpowder.”
“Don’t tell anyone about the chemicals, it might cause problems, and don’t ever tell anyone you can shoot. I don’t want anyone thinking we’re dangerous. We have to be liked so we can find our new home.”
Trinity’s younger sister Ariden, nodded her head, “Mom what about my friends and school? I made the girls football team this year and look at all of this snow! I’m so over all of this snow. I don’t want to go to America. They don’t even play football.”
“Yes, they do. They call it soccer.”
Jon broke into their conversation, “I’m sorry but I need quiet so I can concentrate on the road, the snow has covered the lines. The wind is blowing the snow and it looks like we’re driving through space. Our headlights keep dimming from the snow build up. We’ll be stopping in about two hours. Hopefully we’ll find someplace to eat so we don’t have to touch our supplies. I want to fill the SUV with fuel, so we don’t have to touch our gas cans on the roof.”
Erin used a pair of old binoculars to look in the distance and she looked at Jon, “Snow’s too heavy. I can’t see anything with these. I do see some lights on the horizon, I hope that means they have power and we can get out and stretch our legs.”
“We’ll find a place. The border is only another six or ten hours ahead of us. I wonder what we’re going to find in Maine.”
“Most likely it isn’t any different then here. I bet most of their people have already moved south.”
Trinity asked, “Where are they going? Which of their states can hold so many people?”
Jon shook his head and whispered, “Many died like ours did. I think they had a lot of open space in the southwest. I don’t know, but I’m praying they have a place for us. We can’t stay here. I bet there won’t be any people alive in Canada in another couple of months and then it will be impossible to save any who then decided they wanted to leave. We should have left earlier.”
Erin reached out and touched Jon’s right leg, “I know. We all prayed the warm water would save us from the worst of the weather. Then the Gulf Stream changed course and we began to freeze. The snow came and didn’t end. It’s late July and it hasn’t been above zero all year. You’re doing the right thing in taking us out of Canada. We’ll always remember out roots, eh?”
Jon laughed, “I love you.”
“I love you too.”
Jon found a closed gas station. Its windows were broken and everything that had been on the shelves was on the floor. Most of the items were under snow or had been chewed on by animals. “Girls, go inside and look for anything undamaged and anything we can eat, hurry, I’m going to siphon fuel, which I hope is still in the tanks and hasn’t frozen.”
Erin held their shotgun in her arms while the girls ran back and forth through the blowing snow carrying armfuls of frozen candy, cookies, and chips to the car and Jon slowly filled the Denali’s tank with the fuel still in the underground tank. He told the girls, “Run and use the bathroom. It’s cold and dark and the lights don’t work. One of you stand guard while the other goes, and hurry. I want to get out of here as quickly as possible.”
Erin returned to the SUV smiling, “I found an unopened case of TP in the back. While we can’t fit the case in, I took an armful of rolls. Never know when TP
